A few days ago, I met with a group of ministers who have been meeting for prayer for a long time. Before I was in frontline ministry, we used to meet regularly. Now that they are busy in their respective ministries, they are meeting as an event to continue fellowship. During our last meeting, the oldest member introduced me to the word “sit, walk, stand” for the first time. I thought it was some kind of philosophical word. But he kept repeating it as if he meant it. So I asked him what it meant.

  He said it came from Watchman Nee, a famous Christian leader from China, a barren land for the gospel and a country I have a lot of dislike for these days. My brain reacted like a sponge as soon as I heard the meaning behind the three short, simple letters. The literal meaning is “to walk to the left, to participate. When I asked ChatGPT, they explained it more precisely: “The attitude of humbling oneself and joining the way of the cross.”

  How is a spirituality like Watchman Nee's possible in China, a country where the gospel is now near extinction? As we approach Holy Week, I am particularly struck by these words. In a generation that favors the right over the left, a spirituality that walks the way of the cross, abandoning self and obeying God's will, becomes even more meaningful.

  Every year, I reflect on the meaning of the regular festivals such as New Year, Easter, Thanksgiving, and Christmas as they approach. It's not because I don't know the meaning or the concept. It's because I want to check how seriously and correctly I understand and practice the many church celebraions in Christianity.

  Take Easter, for example: we cheer and rejoice in the glory of the resurrection. But we want to ignore the special week of Jesus' life and suffering that preceded it as much as possible. Well, it seems to be instinctive. In honest confession, I am very uncomfortable with the annual observance of Holy Week, because somehow I feel like I should be sad, and somehow I feel like the right attitude is to be distressed.

  Why do I feel uncomfortable? I think it's because I'm inherently anti-bone. My heart reacts. Why practice uncomfortable, painful suffering when I have the joy of salvation and the hope of resurrection? So in one heart, the right atrium and the left atrium fight a little war, and in the end, the right atrium wins, and the left atrium is forced to humble itself.

  This week, Watchman Nee realizes this and chooses the left side, the side of humility, and decides to walk with Christ on the path of suffering, the cross. The things of this world, which I have held for my own satisfaction and benefit, I now count them all as loss, and forsake them all for Jesus~ For His sake, which is most precious in me~ I have the privilege to believe, and the privilege to suffer for HIm.

Translated with DeepL.com (free version)