Those were the last words in a book I just recently finished entitled The Heavenly Man by Brother Yun. It is the story of a Chinese pastor and the intense persecution he endured serving Christ in the house church movement.
He was imprisoned on four different occasions. He had pins driven underneath his fingernails, was beaten repeatedly with electric batons, at times those electric batons were put in his mouth, and he was laid in human waste and urinated on by other prisoners. His legs were beaten so severely that he could not use them until the day God miraculously healed them. He did not see his son until he was already four years old because Yun was in prison.
When Brother Yun was not in prison he was busy preaching in different house churches and running and hiding from the Public Security Bureau. His pictures were posted all over the province and Yun lived life on the run as a wanted criminal. During his first few several years of marriage he spent as much time separated from his wife as he did with her.
The Heavenly Man is a very challenging and inspiring book. I got to the last page and the last sentence and here is was is written, “Will you follow Him?” There is a great deal in the Bible about following God or following Jesus. I Sam 12:14, Matt 4:19-20, Matt 16:24. Brother Yun has committed his life to follow Jesus anywhere and to do anything. Currently he does not live in China anymore but is open to the fact that God might call him to go back.
I have chewed on several things from that book. The most profound is that Brother Yun’s willingness to follow Jesus has cost his family dearly. His wife and two children have often suffered in poverty while he was in prison. They too have had to be on the run from Public Security Bureau. Once, he and his wife were imprisoned at the same time. His son was teased and picked on in schools because of Yun’s imprisonment. Yun’s two children have spent much of their childhood without their father around and at one point at to be relocated away from both their father and mother for protection.
Do I have the courage to follow Jesus anywhere and to do anything even it means it might cost Brenda and the boys for me to be obedient. At this point I would say yes. I live my life to follow Him. That can be an unsettling decision. When you commit to follow Jesus we are no longer in control and we no longer steer the direction of our lives.
Yet reading this fascinating book, which was like reading a modern day version of the book of Acts, pushes me to ready to follow the Lord no matter what. My life is not my own for I have been bought with a price [I Cor 6:19-20] and I am a bond slave of Jesus Christ. Following the Lord has meant intense persecution for millions of believers so who do I think I am that following Christ might not mean some persecution and some hard times for me as well. Read this carefully. Sometimes the Lord will lead us to follow Him to danger, risk, and way out of our comfort zones. Many never follow there.
I have this feeling that at some point in my life following God will mean following Him on short term mission trips to some of the most dangerous places in the world. I also know that it will mean following Him to love people whom others have forgotten and neglected. Following Him means I will continually be challenged to believe Him for impossible things. Following Him will mean to live a life of faith and it will mean that at times my obedience may cost my wife and children. The truth is that it already has on numerous occasions. Is Jesus worth all of that?
Yes and a thousand times over yes. I have been saved by grace [Eph 2:8-9], redeemed by the blood of the lamb [Rom 5:9], and set free from the chains of sin and rescued from the wrath of God [Rom 2:4-5]. Why would I not be willing to follow Him? The life of any believer should be like a huge game of follow the leader. You remember that game played when we were children. Somebody was chosen to be the leader and the rest of us would fall in line behind the leader and go and do what they did. That is exactly what we are to do in our relationship with Jesus. We must fall in line behind Him and go where He goes and do what He does. I end this blog with the same question that was posed at the end of the book. Will you follow Him?
He was imprisoned on four different occasions. He had pins driven underneath his fingernails, was beaten repeatedly with electric batons, at times those electric batons were put in his mouth, and he was laid in human waste and urinated on by other prisoners. His legs were beaten so severely that he could not use them until the day God miraculously healed them. He did not see his son until he was already four years old because Yun was in prison.
When Brother Yun was not in prison he was busy preaching in different house churches and running and hiding from the Public Security Bureau. His pictures were posted all over the province and Yun lived life on the run as a wanted criminal. During his first few several years of marriage he spent as much time separated from his wife as he did with her.
The Heavenly Man is a very challenging and inspiring book. I got to the last page and the last sentence and here is was is written, “Will you follow Him?” There is a great deal in the Bible about following God or following Jesus. I Sam 12:14, Matt 4:19-20, Matt 16:24. Brother Yun has committed his life to follow Jesus anywhere and to do anything. Currently he does not live in China anymore but is open to the fact that God might call him to go back.
I have chewed on several things from that book. The most profound is that Brother Yun’s willingness to follow Jesus has cost his family dearly. His wife and two children have often suffered in poverty while he was in prison. They too have had to be on the run from Public Security Bureau. Once, he and his wife were imprisoned at the same time. His son was teased and picked on in schools because of Yun’s imprisonment. Yun’s two children have spent much of their childhood without their father around and at one point at to be relocated away from both their father and mother for protection.
Do I have the courage to follow Jesus anywhere and to do anything even it means it might cost Brenda and the boys for me to be obedient. At this point I would say yes. I live my life to follow Him. That can be an unsettling decision. When you commit to follow Jesus we are no longer in control and we no longer steer the direction of our lives.
Yet reading this fascinating book, which was like reading a modern day version of the book of Acts, pushes me to ready to follow the Lord no matter what. My life is not my own for I have been bought with a price [I Cor 6:19-20] and I am a bond slave of Jesus Christ. Following the Lord has meant intense persecution for millions of believers so who do I think I am that following Christ might not mean some persecution and some hard times for me as well. Read this carefully. Sometimes the Lord will lead us to follow Him to danger, risk, and way out of our comfort zones. Many never follow there.
I have this feeling that at some point in my life following God will mean following Him on short term mission trips to some of the most dangerous places in the world. I also know that it will mean following Him to love people whom others have forgotten and neglected. Following Him means I will continually be challenged to believe Him for impossible things. Following Him will mean to live a life of faith and it will mean that at times my obedience may cost my wife and children. The truth is that it already has on numerous occasions. Is Jesus worth all of that?
Yes and a thousand times over yes. I have been saved by grace [Eph 2:8-9], redeemed by the blood of the lamb [Rom 5:9], and set free from the chains of sin and rescued from the wrath of God [Rom 2:4-5]. Why would I not be willing to follow Him? The life of any believer should be like a huge game of follow the leader. You remember that game played when we were children. Somebody was chosen to be the leader and the rest of us would fall in line behind the leader and go and do what they did. That is exactly what we are to do in our relationship with Jesus. We must fall in line behind Him and go where He goes and do what He does. I end this blog with the same question that was posed at the end of the book. Will you follow Him?
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