Daily Devotion

“Do not underestimate these newly baptized Chinese Christians. The persecution they endure from their families and society is unimaginable to Westerners. When they are willing to renounce idols for the Lord and suffer rejection from their own people, this is irrefutable proof that God's grace reigns in their lives. The future revival of China will surely be undertaken by them.”

Dyer Ball · Letters between Bonnie and Bridgman

Scripture

Matthew 10:36-38 A man’s enemies are his own householders. Anyone who loves his father or mother more than me is not worthy of me, nor his son or daughter more than me, nor anyone who does not take up his cross and follow me is not worthy of me.

Reflection

The lament of old Bonniere and the commandments of Jesus serve as a mirror. Nineteenth-century Chinese believers sacrificed ancestral rites, clan ties, and even their lives to follow the Lord—a price paid in blood. In today's relatively comfortable environment for faith, our challenges have become invisible idols: worldly acceptance, comfort zones, and a refined self-interest that refuses to suffer. Do we often treat Christ as an ornament, rather than the Lord of our lives? True following often means willingly choosing the narrower path when values ​​clash with the world.