A few reports on various news channels about the rise of China and how it affects us all. We read about various smaller nations being elbowed out of the South China Sea and how some of the islands which were claimed by other countries now have Chinese military installations. There are reports of the rapid advances in China’s military hardware and their increasing influence (politically and economically) in numerous developing countries around the world.
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Even here in Australia, there is concern that the Chinese government is exercising influence in universities. And strangely enough, churches. The latter is quite bizarre. If a foreign nation wanted to infiltrate Australian society, why go through the church? The church might have been a powerful voice in Australian society 100 years ago, but today? Perhaps they believe that if these people can bring themselves to believe in God, they will swallow anything, ha! Or it may be possible that in China today, churches are a powerful underground force for change, and this is why they are targeting churches here in Australia. No one really knows how many Christians there are in China but it is very likely they outnumber the total population of Australia.
It is worth reflecting though on how the church grew in influence from its humble beginnings. How did this initially tiny movement reach the ends of the earth and what can we learn from it? Firstly, they took the words of Jesus seriously and they lived it out. We know that the early church would meet regularly and encourage each other in following Jesus.
Secondly, they loved people. The Roman emperor, Julian (331-363) in a letter to Arsacius, a priest in Galatia, wrote, “For it is disgraceful that, when no Jew ever has to beg, and the impious Galilaeans support not only their own poor but ours as well, all men see that our people lack aid from us.” All brickbats, bouquets and banter welcome at pastor@pmbc.org.au
