Through their blows, the persecutors and the persecuted came to know one another. This is an important gain for both of us, as we continue to walk through persecution. This is what it means when we Chinese say: “Out of blows, knowledge grows!”
There will always be conflicts for people who grow up in a traditional Chinese education, because a Chinese education is an atheistic education. But I never doubted the existence of God. The existence of God was as natural to me as the sun rising in the east and setting in the west. It was as natural to me as getting up in the morning.
I am a subversive patriot because, despite the progress we have made as a nation, America is not my best hope for "life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness." My ultimate allegiance is to a King who gave up his own life, liberty, and happiness to redeem us from the tyranny of sin.
The virus may be eradicated, economies may switch back on, but spiritual distress expressed as anxiety or depression will remain, and for some, this will remain for a long time. We have seen this pandemic destroy spouses, families, friendships, and love between neighbors. The church must be ready to shepherd a flock that may not be infected physically, but deeply wounded and hurt spiritually.
Read MoreGod calls us to be the salt and light of the earth (Matthew 5:13). What would it mean for Christians to be salt and light as spiritual first responders to tragedies both physical and social? Jesus is the one who was passing by, saw us dead on the side of the road, and had compassion for us. We ought to go and do likewise to others.
Read MoreReach out to your Chinese and other Asian friends and let them know you stand with them and with their children today and will keep doing so in the future. Educate your kids about racism in general and encourage them to be on the lookout for prejudice against Chinese and other Asians during COVID-19. Let your Chinese and other Asian friends know that you are someone they can talk with honestly about their experience of xenophobia and racism - anytime, but particularly during the coronavirus. If they trust you enough to open up to you, make sure to listen to them without judgment or prejudice.
Read MoreIs hospitality a gift or our duty from God? Should churches welcome outsiders as a ministry pursuit or as a mandate to obey? Is making room for foreigners in our busy lives God’s command or God’s promise? In the Bible, we find that hospitality is infused with all of these dimensions. As portrayed in both the Passover and the Lord’s Supper, hospitality is a spiritual grace that transforms strangers into friends. As Christine Pohl writes in her book Making Room, “Hospitality is… fundamental to Christian identity.” I have spent much time and effort to persuade churches (some holding a geographic, rather than a biblical definition of world missions) that welcoming international students among us is valid “global-local” missions. I remind churches that, while God calls some Christians to traditional foreign missions, he commands all Christians to “practice hospitality” according to Romans 12:13. Not every Christian is gifted or called by God to leave a familiar place and take Christ’s gospel to a foreign place. But God calls all Christians to welcome outsiders into our ordinary daily lives, homes, and churches - into our covenant communities.
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