There is scholarship enough, resources enough, interest and need enough to tell society the story of the Christian influence in the World. That vital history has not been published well in our era. Although primary for the church, the mission to declare the Christian gospel to all peoples of the world, the story is inevitably intertwined with the secular mission of the church. The secular mission is to do good in serving human needs among all persons in the World. It is related to the belief that serving population groups of the world, the receivers will give some attention to the spiritual meaning and motivation for that service. That mission is driven by both the actual needs of people, and proving Christians are genuine in what they say God has done, and is doing both naturally and spiritually. One finds that perception sometimes distorted and misunderstood by both the church and non-churched people, in records of centuries since Jesus. Christian service guided millions of persons whose strong purpose in life was to help people of the world. That objective led to extensive social improvement. The story is not well disseminated.
I have known many serving persons. Some of these sacrificial men and women are referred to on these daily Pages. Some have been martyrs. As this is being written nine of them, persons who laid down their lives serving others, are going to be honored at their (and my) alma mater in a few weeks. But, my interest here is for history and human progress. The impact of Christian thought and action accented by the Pilgrims; by the Great Awakening of the 18th Century; and, by the evangelistic efforts of the 19th and 20th centuries made America humane. Do we know the story?
Often in my secular reading there appear small squibs of the outstanding work of individuals or of this or that group, including the church. Those acknowledgments are usually undeveloped. World media appear clumsy in presenting this dimension of the experience of man, although publicity seems a bit better than it was fifty years ago. Reading the story of two men who made a significant and sacrificial contribution to the development of western China since 2000 AD, I felt compelled to write this Page. Western China has been a severely undeveloped part of the world. Its population is nearly that of the United States, about 300 million persons living in utter poverty for the most part. Two men went to work to try to lift these citizens from their dismal situation.
A secular magazine stated of these men: Both had converted to Christianity, and both thought of helping western China partly as a spiritual obligation. And, that is about the end of it as far as public reporting of motivation is concerned. With effort and tenacity, the program to wire China’s west with the internet to introduce the area to the modern model of a better life got under way. When the well-designed program, costing several millions of dollars was in place, Chinese leaders went west to see the benefit. Will the world give credit where these men want it placed in Christ? Not likely. Scholars who follow the lead of Christ and the Apostles, as told in Scripture ought to inform the world the whole story of hope in the present. Their work means now as Bible miracles meant then – to gain attention to the higher issues of God’s kingdom, and the bye and bye. Even the ancillary work of these persons relates to immortality. Some ways need to be found that relate the assistance of Christians to lift the burdens of others, no matter who they are – that this effort is in the fulfillment of God’s interest in all peoples. God is interested, based first on his love for his living creation, and to the call of Christ for the creative spiritual life that is ongoing and respectful of his meaning for life. It is redemptive. *Mark W. Lee, Sr. — 2016, 2020