Jesus-Life Under Communism

How do you live a Jesus-life under Communism?

I’ve read two books about believers living under challenging circumstances in China and in Romania.

(This idea is the subject of countless books–including Solzhenitsyn’s. I’m limiting myself to two I’ve read in the last few years.)

From both, I took away profound truths that should affect my everyday life in the United States.

Perhaps you, too, can see how to live a Jesus-life wherever you live.

Jesus-life in Romania

Sabina Wurmbrand’s book, The Pastor’s Wife, details her experiences coming to faith in Romania prior to World War II.

The pastor’s wife refers to her role in marriage to Pastor Richard Wurmbrand, who wrote many books himself.

Sabina’s book interested me because she had to help keep her husband’s church running during his years in a Communist prison.

It was a formidable task with many complications.

Like many written by others over the years, the book highlights what it was like to live under a despotic Communist regime.

(See my visit to Budapest’s House of Terror).

Sabina spent several years in the countryside near the Black Sea trying to build a canal with her bare hands. (There were many, many others doing this same work, of course).

Separated from her child, her husband in prison, she fought to retain her faith despite persecution and horrific living conditions.

Once released and sent home where she found her now-teenage son being looked after by friends, she set to work helping the underground church.

Ministering to suspected quislings

While it was bad enough to have to live with unscrupulous women of many different “professions,” returning to the local church raised the ante even higher.

Asked to step into her husband’s role and lead a small group of house church members, Sabina undertook a difficult task.

She and others had to find ways to feed themselves, but also those whom they sheltered from the local police authorities.

Meeting to worship in small groups of perhaps, eight, they had to hide their activities from neighbors only too happy to turn them in as Christians to local authorities.

And then there were the quislings–people who pretended to be Christians or their friends, and who reported on the small house church members as well.

How do you look at people through the eyes of Christ when they are either torturing you or destroying your life and that of your neighbors?

What does Jesus-life bid us do?

Sabina was prepared to die for the sake of the Gospel.

I felt sobered reading her descriptions of life in 1940s Romania.

In addition to all that, the authorities also pressured her to divorce her husband.

Richard ended up spending 14 years in prison.

Sabina recognized the authorities–who withheld food, school placements for her son, and threatened her with other reprisals–would use such a divorce to undermine her husband’s faith.

Even though she didn’t know for sure he lived, she determined she could not divorce him. She loved him, yes, but she knew she needed to remain strong for him.

Sabina reunited with her husband in 1956 and waited through yet another prison term before his final release to the west in 1964. They remained married until their deaths.

Jesus-life in the land of God is Red

What on earth does it mean: God is Red?

The full title explains: God Is Red: The Secret Story of How Christianity Survived and Flourished in Communist China.

It’s the title of a 200 book written by Chinese journalist Liao Yiwu

Not a Christian himself–or at least not at the time he wrote the book– he asked an interesting question.

“Given the persecution of Christians [in China], why do people remain Christians?”

An excellent question.

Like a good journalist, he went in search of people committed to Jesus-life to find out.

First published in 2011, God is Red recounts edited versions of interviews Liao conducted in more rural parts of China around 2004.

Liao’s interviews often took place in hidden or in secret meetings. Several times local authorities broke up interviews, exposing Liao to surprise and unease.

Many of his stories involved Christians–both Catholic and Protestant–who spent years in miserable conditions.

Relatives recounted horrific beatings, withheld medical care, abominable living conditions, and starvation.

And yet, they did not recant their belief in Jesus.

Why?

Two reasons seemed to come up time and again with Biblical echoes or actual voices.

• Where else would they go for eternal life? (John 6:68)
• The confidence Jesus would not leave them. (See below)

Many also mentioned physical healings they received from God–signs and wonders of His power over the grim circumstances following God brought into their lives.

The Gospel itself often came through missionaries in China during the early 20th century, most notably through the China Inland Mission.

Scripture encouragement–time and again

For both Sabina and Richard Wurmbrand, and all the believers interviewed in God is Red, remembered Bible passages made all the difference.

Alone in your thoughts, sitting chained in a rank dark solitary prison cell, all you have left is your mind and memories.

Almost every story in these two books involved people in dire situations reflecting on the truth of Scripture.

One verse, in particular, meant the most to them, and often to me, Jesus’ reminder “I will be with you until the end of the age,” in Matthew 28:20.

Here’s a list of 30 different verses saying basically the same thing throughout the Bible as Jesus-life encouragement. (King James version).

How do you live a Jesus-life if you know this?

The very same way.

• Know God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit intimately as a daily experience in your life.
• Memorize Scripture.
• Make sure you know what you believe and why.
• Remain faithful to the tenants of your faith.
• No matter what you’re told, refuse to become like the persecutors.

Tweetables

What was Jesus-life like under Communism? Click to Tweet

How do you survive political horrors with your faith intact? Click to Tweet