“To avoid walking the way of the cross is to avoid Christ himself,” says Hannah Nation, co-editor of a new book entitled Faith in the Wilderness: Words of Exhortation from the Chinese Church. On this episode of All Things, Hannah—who has been involved in ministry in China for over 20 years—shares stories and perspectives from Chinese house church pastors. Most striking for American Christian listeners will be perhaps the Chinese Christian perspective on suffering: following Jesus and growth in him requires it.

Tim Keller, says it well in the book’s foreword, “To get a desperately needed perspective, we must listen to the voices of believers in parts of the world where the opposition is much more pervasive and often takes the form of violence.”

We have so much to learn from our brothers and sisters in China. As one Chinese pastor says, "In this disease-infested world, there is no time to entertain and serve false gods who lead to death. We are called to practice death every day: to follow closely our Savior Jesus Christ, who gave his life for us. The mission of a Christian is fearless faith in this deadly world."

May we practice death every day. May we lose our lives to find them. May we learn from our siblings in China.