Death Operates in Us,
but Life Operates in You
I had long heard that in Taipei there was a co-worker and elder of whom Brother Li had personally said that "his belly was wide enough to pole a boat through." It was not until the spring of 2015, through the introduction of an elder, Brother Zhou (周), who was then serving in Singapore, that a sister and I met Brother Wu in Sha Tin, Hong Kong. We felt at once as if we had known him for years; in the course of our conversation I sensed that he had already very seriously come to understand us. He was kindly and approachable, fine and considerate, full of flowing anointing oil, so that we were deeply moistened—utterly opposite to the impression we had had of him from afar. At our first meeting he opened himself up to us entirely, trusted us completely, and held nothing back, especially concerning his burden, the history, and the expectation regarding the propagation of the ministry's publications.
In September of that year, one evening during the preparation meetings for the industrial and commercial gospel, Brother Wu called me to the room where he was staying. He hoped to use the propagation of the gospel machine as a stepping stone, attempting within the mainland a fully open propagation of the content of the age's ministry, and he wanted me to carry out this matter. The brother's faithfulness, courage, and offering toward the ministry truly stirred us up. Later, in the course of the propagation, whenever heavy difficulties, questionings, and threats arose, I would write to Brother Wu, and all the problems, once brought before him, dissolved completely like smoke. He bore all the difficulties, even those provoked by our own ignorance and immaturity. One of his letters read like this:
"Brother John:
I have received your message! You have labored hard. Our labor in the Lord is not in vain; may the Lord add His grace and strength. I have seen at the first moment all the literature you have put out—it is very positive and efficient. I have also received some concerned and questioning fellowship, and I have explained to each one that the fellowship is initiated by Taiwan Gospel Book Room with your cooperation in the propagation; this side I have already fellowshipped about. As for propagating the gospel machine, it is only the first step; if the Lord blesses and a way is opened up, then this rich ministry can be supplied even more freely. In all things one should not be too hasty; only seek to broaden the scope of contact, not forcing things too much, and it is well to establish more of the proper fellowship. —Youcheng"
To be constituted with the word of the age's ministry, and to propagate the divine revelation, was the whole of Brother Wu's living and work; "rather die on the battlefield than rest on the sickbed" was his battle cry. The trouble of his long years of sickness and pain did not affect his service in the least; rather, more milk and honey dripped from beneath his tongue. The more we contacted Brother Wu, the more we received his cherishing and shepherding.
In 2018, at a week of training in Hong Kong, Brother Wu had two days of classes. On the second day, after the word in the morning was finished, he went directly by car to the airport, and I accompanied him. When the brothers bade him farewell, they said, "Brother Wu, are you leaving in such a hurry?" He said, "My younger sister has just been taken by the Lord, and the matters still wait for me to go back and handle them." I really could not imagine it—when the family had met with so great a matter, was that not reason enough to arrange for other saints to carry out the ministry? Yet during those two days, listening to his messages and fellowship, we only enjoyed the supply of life from him and did not feel in the least that he was bearing such great pain. Just as Paul said, "So then death operates in us, but life in you" (2 Cor. 4:12).
When we reached the airport and went through the boarding procedures with him, an attendant pushed a wheelchair to help him through the security check and on to board. Watching his staggering figure gradually recede into the distance, I could not hold back the tears that surged up, and I hurried to find a secluded corner and wept for a long while. The Lord within me said to me: This is the pattern—a pattern that sought nothing for himself but sought everything for the Lord!
In Brother Wu, the word of the ministry was concrete and substantial, fully laden with reality and supply; the leading of the ministry was solid and real, without any empty formality or deficiency. Once in Sha Tin, facing dozens of serving ones who had come from various places, he analyzed the situation of the churches: the chief thing they lacked was the proper, open fellowship, so that each held its own ground, even monopolized its own territory; to blend with one another and to receive adjustment was an urgent need. To serve the Lord merely by busying oneself with affairs will not do; one needs to enter into and be constituted with the word of the Lord.
First, the vision must be clear, and it must be transmitted clearly to the saints. Second, once the fellowship is finished, one must go and do it; the service of the church must have a concrete way, and in practice the most important thing is to have a pattern—where there is a pattern, there is strength; where there is a pattern, the spirit is strengthened. Third, there absolutely must be statistics, for the figures speak; they can reveal the problems in practice and let us know where we ought to put our strength.
He also testified that the first thing in serving the Lord is to know people, even to be able to call out their names, including those of their families—otherwise how would the saints trust you and fellowship with you! If you are going to do it, do it for real; not only do it yourself, but also bring others along to do it together. To do the Lord's work, there must be a way.
I often hate that I was not born and raised on the island of Taiwan, where perhaps I could have done odd jobs in the book room and had more opportunities to receive the brother's help; I also hate that whenever I telephoned Brother Wu, I was always afraid of taking up his time, so I kept it shorter and shorter—all of this was the loss of my little faith.