The Vision of the Body of Christ, the Reality of the Body of Christ
In July 2000, while visiting Brother Lin Zilong (林子隆) in Fujian, I first met Brother Paul Wu, who had also come to see the elder Lin. At that time it was hard to imagine that Brother Wu could have such deep, ardent love and such delicate care for the members in the mainland whom he had never met before. In those days, Brother Lin Zilong, Brother Hu Zhongming (胡衷明), and others were seeking before the Lord as to how to go forward better in the new century. Brother Wu spoke to us with great clarity, saying that no matter where we are, the church ought to have normal communication with the government, so that more people might positively understand our pure faith based on the Bible. Brother Wu's fellowship greatly opened us up, and it also confirmed what the elder Lin and the other brothers in the mainland had obtained in their seeking before the Lord. Later, the Lord also arranged the environment, opening for us opportunities for communication. By systematically setting forth our pure faith to the relevant departments, declaring our proper standing, and testifying to a good practice, the various localities gradually came to have a relatively relaxed and harmonious outward environment.
In early 2005, Brother Youcheng, together with Brother Yu Jielin (余潔麟) and the other coordinating serving brothers, sent an invitation to ten brothers in China to attend the summer training and to visit America. Since at that time it was very difficult to obtain passports and U.S. visas, in the end only Brother Zhang and I were able to make the trip. Because it was our first time going abroad, the two of us actually took different flights; when, like one who dreamed, I walked out of the Los Angeles airport and saw the plump Brother Wu and Brother He Zijian (何子建) standing drenched with sweat at the exit to receive me, my heart was filled with gratitude, and I was deeply shepherded.
No matter when or where, Brother Youcheng was always full of love toward all the saints; it would be hard to find anyone of larger measure than he. At the same time, he was also very much a man of principle. Toward the heresies and cults that confuse the pure truth, he was very solemn and absolute. At the end of 2012, when the "Eastern Lightning, Almighty God" cult organization stirred up trouble in the mainland, also bringing disturbance to the saints on both sides of the strait, Brother Paul Wu stepped forward and, representing all 127 churches in Taiwan together with 56 Christian groups in Taiwan, jointly issued a declaration resolutely resisting the "Almighty God" cult. It is said that its scope was so broad that it was the first of its kind in the Christian circles of Taiwan.
One summer night one year, when Brother Wu was visiting a certain place, in order to restore the harmony among several groups of people there, he fellowshipped until nearly midnight. At that time I, who had gone there together with Brother Wu, saw the weariness on his face and could only silently intercede for him. At the same time, I admired all the more that the brother was truly one who lived in the vision and the reality of the Body.