A Great Multitude

I am visiting BICF (Beijing International Christian Fellowship - www.bicf.org) tomorrow and if you go to their site, there is a verse on the front page:

 

After this I looked and there before me was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people and language, standing before the throne and in front of the Lamb. - Revelation 7:9

 

Beijing has a lot of chinese people. Riding on the train with zero personal space reconfirms this for me every day this week.  Even the elevator ride in the morning is jam packed with people.  There is rarely a moment when you are not surrounded by people.  And in order for the government to maintain control over all these people, they claim they must restrict website access to certain sites that might cause social rebellion. Or they must censor the news they allow to be distributed on TV or in the newspaper.  It is heart-breaking to think that the majority of all these people do not know Jesus. 

 

During my visit to Jing Shang park today, at the very top of the hill there is a shrine that contains a statue of Buddha.  I watched as the Chinese people bowed down to worship this idol.  As I observed, I remembered this verse:

 

He cuts down cedars, or perhaps took a cypress or oak.

He let it grow among the trees of the forest, or planted a pine, and the rain made it grow.

It is man's fuel for burning; some of it he takes and warms himself, he kindles a fire and bakes bread.

But he also fashions a god and worships it; he makes an idol and bows down to it.

Half of the wood he burns in the fire; over it he prepares his meal, he roasts his meat and eats his fill.

He also warms himself and says, "Ah! I am warm; I see the fire."

From the rest he makes a god, his idol; he bows down to it and worships.

He prays to it and says, "Save me; you are my god".

They know nothing, they understand nothing; their eyes are plastered over so they cannot see, and their minds are closed so they cannot understand.

Isaiah 44:14-18

 

I watched as a father bowed to the statue, and then taught his small daughter how to do the same.  It made me understand that the tradition of worshiping this idol is passed from generation to generation.  But do they ever stop to think about what they are doing?  Do they fully understand what it is they are worshiping?  It cannot do anything for them -- it is a man-made idol -- what power does it have?  If the statue is made of wood, it could burn down and it would be gone.  Again, it is frustrating to observe that these people have their eyes blinded and their minds closed to the truth.