![]() The Lord is funny sometimes. He provides the right experiences at the right time in order to show us something we previously could not see. On the outside, the church in Kaohsiung had a wonderful meeting hall with a wonderfully equipped book store, glass-enclosed and all. In the middle of this scenic hall was a garden and a pond, full of life in the midst of the bustling sounds of the second largest city in Taiwan. As I walked across the garden, the fish drew near, expecting me to feed them, hungry for food, hungry for more. It was indeed a place of solace—a well-built, well-designed piece of architecture. But was that all? When religion and man's work creep in, our lives are ruined. Religion kills without us even realizing its damages. The morning presentation was so starved of life, even the fish seemed hungrier. Numbers, numbers, and more numbers: Slide after slide, the brothers presented the "number of people" in attendance at each meeting, each gathering, each district, each small group, each gospel fellowship, etc. Then, they proceeded to present a formulaic method in gaining more young people—as if life had a formula. It is true, on the surface, that nothing is wrong with talking about the numbers or presenting the formula in gaining young seekers. After all, isn't this part of God's plan? But then we all have to ask ourselves: are we just numbers? I do not need to count my children and then present them to one of my children in order to prove to them that they have brothers and sisters. I do not need to report to my husband or wife that we have "x" amount of sons and daughters. Our lives and our churchlife are not dictated by numbers, but rather, by the living life inside of each and every one of us. I am saddened when people, vital beings, are reduced to mere numbers for calculations and analyses. When this happens, we know that we are drifting far away from the Lord's calling. So, it wasn't a surprise that in the middle of this "fellowship" many saints decided a bathroom break or even a leisurely stroll in the garden was necessary—some even took this opportunity for a photo-shoot. While I am sure no saint meant any disrespect, we all recognized the stagnant air wafting through the glass windows of the meeting hall. We walked back in, clear and refreshed, and shared our burdens to the leading brothers there. "Oh the joy of having nothing, being nothing, seeing nothing, but a living Christ in glory." We have to live this reality. The Lord needs to be alive in us or He becomes a religion, a work, a stairway to fame. We are too easily blinded and are then unable to distinguish the difference between our work and His work. And then we really can't live a reality of "having nothing, being nothing, and seeing nothing" because we think we have something, are something, and see something greater. Worst of all, "living Christ" becomes a slogan, a formula, and a work to us . . . not a present reality, our daily salvation, and a life-long process. We learn. Praise the Lord we can learn from each other. While the brothers there are very much engrossed in their work, we have to admire their determination and guts—they lay their whole lives down for this work for the Lord. Can we be that gutsy? Before we criticize, let's first live a vital life, be a pattern and a proper testimony to those that the Lord has placed in our hands. Before we teach, before we raise, before we do anything, we need to live a life before the Lord, fully consecrating ourselves to Him. "Gaining people" isn't everything. Counting numbers isn't all there is to life. Let's first "gain" ourselves before we even try raising more children. -Samuel C
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