The students range in age from about seventeen to the mid-twenties and come from different Providences in China. They are chosen by the elders of their home church based on their love for God and their desire to serve Him. When I think about what it means to love God, I think of these students that I spent eight days with. Their love was so pure and so focused. It was a love for God that was demonstrated by their worship of and their obedience to God.
Their worship was from the heart and was so filled with the presence of God that it would draw you to your knees in repentance and adoration. Their spontaneous worship in song literally brought us to tears many times as God’s presence filled us and His love overflowed our hearts. It was a worship that contained a desire for holiness. There were eight young men and eight young women living in very close quarters, at that site, but a desire for holiness set the standard of conduct resulting in purity among them.
A love for God must always include obedience to Him. Their obedience was to the call of God through the elders of their home church to leave family and friends and enter an underground training center for more than two years and follow a rigorous schedule of learning the Bible, getting to know and to understand God with the awareness that they could go to prison if discovered. In their love for God they reverenced His sacredness. This element of holiness was so apparent in their worship time, in their relationship with God and with one another. Their hearts were so humble and gentle as they honored God and gave Him thanks.
Truly, these students loved God with all their heart, soul, mind and strength and because of their love for others they are willing to pay any price to become effective servants of the One and only living God. These students found a very special place in my heart. How I wish I could have spent more time with them and others like them, teaching them more about God and His word.
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