"For he himself is our peace, who has made the two groups one and has destroyed the barrier, the dividing wall of hostility, by setting aside in his flesh the law with its commands and regulations. His purpose was to create in himself one new humanity out of the two, thus making peace, and in one body to reconcile both of them to God through the cross, by which he put to death their hostility." Ephesians 2:14-16
At 16, Amy served as an usher at a GoForth National Missions Conference - these were conferences held at the Suntec Singapore Convention & mega missions Exhibition Centre and thousands came each night to hear what God was doing all over the world.
The speaker on the last evening was James Taylor. As it were, 20 years ago, one did not have YouTube, Twitter or Instagram to check out the speaker's profile. Imagine her shock when he started his greetings in Mandarin and the Chinese pastor next to him translated that into English. That was merely a first of the many surprises God had in store for her that evening.
Through the 40-minute message he presented, James Taylor shared that he and his family lived and served amongst the Chinese-speaking people. It was odd, to Amy, that he used the term "Chinese-speaking brothers and sisters rather than a particular country or people group.
As his passionate preaching of Ephesians was delivered that evening, the reason became clear. Since he spoke in Mandarin, here is a rough translation of what he said. Speaking from Ephesians 1-2: "Our Lord Jesus desires to give us every spiritual blessing, salvation is but one of the many. He has also, Paul says, destroyed the dividing wall of hostility for He is our peace. There are not many churches but ONE, with Christ as Lord. In God's eyes, there is no China, Hong Kong, Taiwan or not to forget the thousands of Chinese-speaking brothers and sisters who live all over the world. God's desire is to reconcile them all to Himself, that they may experience His love."
The Missional God never chose a people because He practised favouritism. Instead He chose us to bear witness to His great love for all people.
That night, God broke down the walls of prejudice and pride within Amy and she responded, joining many in their love and service for the Chinese-speaking peoples.
ABOUT THE WRITER MS AMY JI is married to childhood friend Jonathan, and they have 2 young children. authored a children's book series - The Invisible People
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