“Tomato, Tomahto.”
Sharing the Good News of Christ’s love with the Hui is undoubtedly a privilege. Most times they have never heard the full Gospel story. Like Paul, we get the opportunity to “preach the Gospel not where Christ has already been named,” but to “those who have never been told of Him…and those who have never heard” (Rom 15:20-21). It’s a joy to speak the Truth to those who may never have otherwise had an opportunity to hear and respond.
Although we always hope that God will allow the Gospel seed to fall on soil open and ready to receive it, this has not often been the case among those I’ve shared with. I’ve heard many different responses to the Gospel, but there are a few that come up more frequently than others.
“Chàbuduō,” or basically, “What you believe and what I believe are about the same.” I and a few friends were in a restaurant talking to the owner’s wife. It was the middle of the afternoon and, since we were her only customers, she sat and chatted with us for a little while. We shared the story of Adam and Eve, a story which many Hui have heard before. When we were finished, she said she had heard the story before and talked about it as if we held the same beliefs. I was concerned that she thought we were Muslims, so I tried to explain that what we believe is different. After trying several times to explain the dissimilarities and even directly saying that Christianity is completely the opposite of all other religions, she still did not seem moved. She didn’t even react as if I was making an argument against her, she just contentedly agreed with everything I said. All of my logical arguments illustrating the disparity between the two beliefs did not disturb her in the slightest.
I felt extremely frustrated by her response. I was trying to explain a Truth that is supposed to evoke a strong emotional, logical, and spiritual reaction, either of acceptance or rejection. The Gospel rarely ever evokes anything less. Yet it was as strange as if we had both been sitting in her restaurant and it happened to catch on fire, so I’m trying to tell her she needs to evacuate the building immediately, but all the while she sits placidly in her chair agreeing with me that the restaurant’s on fire. The proper response to the Gospel, one that shows an understanding of the gravity of its Truth, or at the very least a disbelief in it, was completely absent.
Her response is the most common in my experience with the Hui. No matter how I turn the conversation or what angle I approach the Truth from, they still answer with, “Yes, that’s right.” There is a great need for prayer for these people so that they may have ears to hear the Gospel. We need the Spirit to go before us to prepare the hearts of the people we share with, so that they might actually understand the truth.
Please pray that the Father will prepare the hearts of the Hui to hear and respond to the Gospel. Pray that Workers will rely on the power of the Word to convince the Hui that every religion is not the same. Pray that Workers among the Hui will be able to share broadly the truth of the Gospel.