IF WE SUFFER,WE SHALL REIGN
By Rev. George Oestreich*
T HE little Japanese home, nestling among tea bushes and tangerine trees on the hillside overlooking a terraced valley of rice paddies, was obviously prepared for a festive occa sion and there was much activity both in and out of doors. The children of the family, now grown and scattered, had returned to the old homestead to cele brate the birthday of their beloved father. Final preparations having been care fully made, the happy reunited loved ones enjoyed a luxurious birthday din ner. There was white polished rice in place of the usual coarse mixture of wheat and dark rice, tender raw fish served on bamboo leaves cut in fancy shapes, young vegetables cooked with chipped beef and a savory sauce on a charcoal burner in the center of the large round table. There were tasty side dishes of mushroom soup and bamboo sprouts. To all this was added the deli cate aroma of green tea sipped slowly with obvious enjoyment. After the birthday dinner, the chil dren all prepared for the hour of fellow ship inevitably following this perennial banquet. Everyone sang his own favorite hymn. Then came Bible reading and prayer, for this is one of the rare old Christian homes of Japan, and few in deed are the homes where children can claim a Christian heritage. The crowning event of the evening was always father’s story time. Though no longer children, the memoirs of this Christian father had not lost their at traction and the family circle waited patiently while father stroked the long beard of venerable grey on his deter mined chin. The stroking must have had some vital bearing on the drawing forth of stories from the dusty files of his memory for there was always the strok ing and then stories worth the waiting. “ Times have changed since Mamma and I became Christians,” said Father thoughtfully. “ I was reminded of this just the other day when Yamada San came to talk with me about a spiritual problem. Her husband died during the last war, you know. She has three chil dren. The financial burden is too great for her to bear alone and she has re turned to her home. There she is ex pected to care for the household shrine; put the flowers and tokens of food for ancestral spirits before it. If she re fuses, her people will accuse her of un faithfulness to her departed husband, causing evil to come upon her family. She fears the consequences of resisting her parents’ will and asked me what she *Missionary of the Japanese Gospel Fellowship.
should do. I assured her from the Scrip ture that it is an honor to suffer for Jesus’ sake and that His grace is suf ficient for her in this great trial. I also told her what I want to tell you now to encourage you all to be strong in the Lord. “ When Mamma and I were young, the white man, whether he were a mission ary or not, was called a ‘foreign devil.’ His influence was unwelcome and his customs scorned. Mamma and I were just high-school age when we first heard the gospel. How gracious of God this was, for few indeed were our people who heard it in those days. We pre tended not to be listening as the mis sionary preached by the roadside. We knew severe criticism and punishment would result if we were accused of any interest. However, as we passed slowly by, we were able to hear enough to introduce us, not to what we thought might be the interesting ideas of a for eigner, but to the altogether lovely Lord Jesus Christ. We could not refuse His great salvation and we were born again there on that dusty country road. “ The tests of faith which followed our conversion were frightening expe riences for hearts as young as were ours. When our parents learned that we were Christians, they pled with us not to choose this way of folly so out- of-line with the sacred traditions of our people. Our august family had enjoyed the blessings of the gods of the Jap anese empire for countless generations. Were we going to bring disgrace upon the home and grieve the spirits of our ancestors? They wept over us and finally trembled with rage as we stood before them with no alternative but to confess our faith in Jesus Christ. The most shameful punishment possible came upon us when we were disowned. It seemed
that only death could solve this trial as no one would dare help us but God. We were standing for His glory and His loving arms were about us. “I had become skilful at the ancient art of fencing and my beloved teacher was proud of me. Learning that I had defied my parents and taken this foreign religion, he made every effort to break me. He said I was no longer a true Japanese and that he would punish me before all the students. Before all my boyhood friends he reviled me and finally threatened to behead me there. In my humiliation I fell before the raging man crying, ‘Kill me! I cannot deny my Saviour!’ God protected me from his fierce anger and guided our steps to a mission school where we drank in the Word of God and zeal ously prepared for the Lord’s work. “ Soon we were out in the villages wit nessing for Christ. This work was dan gerous too in those days and I was often apprehended and put in jail for preaching Christ. I traveled everywhere on foot with only a toothbrush, soap, towel and Bible. I look back now on those days of hardship and suffering for His Name’s sake as the most precious spiritual experiences of my life. When we suffer for His glory there is the consciousness of His nearness and sustaining power which purifies our faith. ‘If we suffer, we shall also reign with Him.’ ” Mamma San wiped away a tear that had almost reached her chin. The chil dren all sat silently as though they would hear more, but Father was through. After a moment he said, “ Let’s sing the hymn Mamma and I love: ‘My Faith Looks Up to Thee, Thou Lamb of Calvary.’ ” * * * This story was told to me by one of this father’s sons who is now a student in the Bible school conducted by the Japan Gospel Fellowship. I praise God for the privilege of helping him in his preparation for the ministry. Please pray for the young people of Japan now taking a stand for Christ. It is true that they may not face death, but the Shinto religion and strong nationalism of Japan remains unchanged to this day. Like Jewish people who are saved, they face ostracism and severe testing. For this reason few indeed are the Japanese young men willing to take a clear, strong stand for Christ. Page Nineteen
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