Clay Jar
April 2022
His haggard face and humble demeanor reminded me of the description of Christ in the Book of Isaiah.
“He grew up before him like a tender shoot,
and like a root out of the dry ground.
He had no beauty or majesty to attract us to him, nothing in his appearance that we should desire him.
He was despised and rejected by mankind,
a man of suffering, and familiar with pain.
Like one from whom people hide their faces he was despised,
and we held him in low esteem.”
Isaiah 53:2-3
The Senior Pastor of a Scarborough church has given a very brief introduction of this Mandarin-speaking speaker.
There were no spectacular credentials mentioned, not even the work he has done.
This gray-haired man had spent 27 years in jail — more than half of his life spent!
He has endured daily interrogation and hard labor for Christ alone.
By the 1980s, he was among the early groups of inmates released when Mainland China reopened to the world.
Yet, there were no traces of bitterness or anger in his eyes but only sparkings with his faith.
I am fully inspired by his great gesture over the last 35 years.
He also taught us a hymn written by himself in prison.
“ Fear Not,
Only Trust.
Not looking at the circumstances.
Not looking at yourself.
Not looking for others,
Only gaze upon the Lord,
Pray ceaselessly.
Surely you will see His Glory.”
He further remarked,
“I could not remember even a single Bible verse by the end of my prisoning term,”
he admitted truthfully,
“Nothing but Jesus and His teaching:
Yet not one of them ( sparrows ) will fall to the ground apart from the will of your Father,”
he muttered.
There was no mentioning of any torture or hardship he might have endured.
There was no drama or recollection of any incidents.
No accusation of the China Government ruined his life and has taken out his youthfulness.
There was no boasting of his Faith.
I was then reminded of the bible verse Isaiah 53:7
He was oppressed and afflicted,
yet he did not open his mouth;
he was led like a lamb to the slaughter,
and as a sheep before its shearers is silent,
so he did not open his mouth.
How did I feel about this faithful servant of our Lord when he sang his short hymn without an instrument but his hoarse voice?
It strangely imparted glimpses of images of our Glorious Savior.
And this continues to encourage me for the past 35 years.
Therefore, I no more am focusing on insurmountable or exciting circumstances;
no more on my inflated ego or failures; no more on others’ wickedness or vain success.
365 times in the Holy Bible says “ Fear Not”.
A good and loving reminder for each day.
Would you let the King of Glory into any of your trials and tribulations?
“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.”
Hallelujah!
Glory to our God in the Highest.