“It’s just not right!” The shrinking space for Christian activities in China evokes indignation among the global church, which has understandably come to see China largely through the lens of persecution. Along with a strong sense of injustice come the questions, “What can we do? Will this ever end?”
Concerted political action should change the conditions that currently allow persecution.
In his ambitiously titled book, Ending Persecution, human rights lawyer Knox Thames seems to say "yes". Focusing on the violations of freedom suffered by believers in China and elsewhere, Thames advocates for concerted political action to change the conditions that currently allow persecution to flourish and to bring the perpetrators to account.
Legally speaking, Thames is right. In the case of China, these violations contravene not only international norms and UN covenants that China has ratified; they also infringe upon guarantees enshrined in China’s own constitution. On behalf of those who are suffering, legal and diplomatic remedies should be sought to bring an end to these injustices.
Yet as Thames himself points out, the impunity of Chinese officials renders legal remedies ineffective. In the face of such impunity, the collective outcry of Christians outside China seems to go no further than their own advocacy websites, press releases, and government briefings. Given the current regime’s obsession with national security and Party control over every area of life, this situation does not seem likely to change anytime soon.
Remembering the persecuted
Followers of Christ are called to “remember those who are mistreated as if you yourselves were suffering” (Hebrews 13:3 NIV). They respond with prayer. They speak out on behalf of those who suffer. They intervene where possible and provide comfort and practical help for their fellow believers and their families. But as they do these things, they balance their righteous indignation at the plight of suffering believers around the world with the sober realization that it won’t end until Christ returns.
Persecution has followed the church since its inception.
Persecution has followed the church since its inception. It continues to be a fact of life for a large proportion of believers today, just as Jesus said it would. Christians’ actions on behalf of those who suffer are taken not in the expectation that all persecution will be eliminated, but ultimately out of love for Christ and his church.
The way of lament
The persecution story may be unending, but neither is persecution the end of the story. Living in the tension between the imperative to act and the knowledge that one’s actions can only go so far requires leaning into the sorrow, engaging with the reality of the suffering and submitting by faith to God’s unknowable purposes in the lives of those who face persecution.
In the words of singer/songwriter Michael Card, “To say in essence, ‘Whatever comes my way, I will not let go of God,’ reveals a heart that can accept suffering as the undecipherable mystery that it is."
In this book, "A Sacred Sorrow: Reaching Out to God in the Lost Language of Lament", Card plumbs the chasm between the biblical prescription for how life should be lived and the often absurd and painful reality of how it is experienced. He notes in Psalms that the emphasis on the Law in the earlier chapters soon gives way to a torrent of lament over the inconsistencies in the world for which the Law has no answers.
Lament is the only true response to the brokenness of the world.
Drawing on the work of the late Old Testament scholar Walter Brueggemann, Card traces this movement from Torah obedience to lament—from questions of how we should live to the realization that there are no adequate answers in this fallen world. This progression goes against our desire to control outcomes. It runs counter to our view that obedience will necessarily lead to greater happiness. Yet Card contends that lament is the only true response to the brokenness of the world.
For the Christian, the answer to persecution is not legal remedies. As important and necessary as these may be, asserting “how things should be” eventually falls flat in the face of structural inequality, entrenched discrimination, and leaders who are emboldened to act with impunity.
The difficult answer is lament, the recognition that things are not as they should be, yet God is with us in the pain. United with Christ, we suffer with the one who suffered to save us, and in our suffering we experience his love. Christ comes not to fix all the things that cause us to lament, but to bring the presence of God through the Holy Spirit, which is what our hearts cry out for.
To stand with the persecuted is to mourn with those who mourn.
Jesus said, “Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.” (Matthew 5:4) To stand with the persecuted is to mourn with those who mourn. “Until we learn to honestly embrace our hopelessness and theirs,” Card says, “There will be no true gospel to be heard. Until we learn to lament, we have nothing to say to most of the world.”
Crossing the line
Lament does not end with simply bemoaning what is. Card follows a familiar pattern observed in many of the Psalms, as well as in the trajectory of Job’s story, wherein lament moves through complaint and culminates in worship.
In Psalm 13, for example, after asking, “Where is God” and complaining about the pain in his soul and the threat posed by his enemies, David finally “crosses the line” and proclaims, “But I have trusted in your steadfast love; my heart shall rejoice in your salvation. I will sing to the Lord, because he has dealt bountifully with me.” (Psalm 13:5-6)
True worship begins in the wilderness. Those who have tasted God’s love in the wilderness have worshipful hearts.
Lament takes us from desolation to intimacy with God.
The end of persecution—understood as the elimination of persecution—is not to be found in this life. For the Christian, however, the ultimate end or telos of persecution may be found in experiencing God’s presence in the wilderness and testifying to his unfailing love amid the suffering. Lament takes us from desolation to intimacy with God, from despair to worship.
The end of lament, promised in Revelation 21, will finally come with the renewal of all things, when “God himself will be with them as their God. He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.” (Revelation 21:3c-4)
Originally published by ChinaSource. Republished with permission.
Dr. Brent Fulton is the founder of ChinaSource and served as its first president until 2019. Prior to that, he served as the managing director of the Institute for Chinese Studies at Wheaton College, and before that as founding US director of China Ministries International and the English publications editor for the Chinese Church Research Center in Hong Kong. Dr. Fulton holds MA and PhD degrees in political science from the University of Southern California and a BA in radio-TV-film from Messiah College. Currently, Dr. Fulton facilitates a network of member care professionals serving missionaries sent out from China and also consults with other organizations on the impact of China's religious policy.
ChinaSource is a trusted partner and platform for educating the global church on critical issues facing the church and ministries in China, and for connecting Christians inside and outside China to advance the kingdom of God globally. ChinaSource's vision is to see the church in China and the global church learning and growing together, engaging in ministry that powerfully advances the kingdom of God.
