• Bro. Zhanxiang Liu •
As Unknown and Yet Well Known
I was a second generation Christian and attended the Sunday school in Lutheran Church from childhood. At the age of 14 I was baptized to be saved under my mother’s order. At the age of 22 I was recovered and revived by the Lord in Hall Nine of the Church in Taipei. In August 1975, I began to work in Taipei Veterans General Hospital, living the sweet church life in Hall Fourteen.
In my memories brother Liu suffered the hemiparesis with mobility problems, and had to use a walking stick. Sister Liu always quietly served beside him. His face was often red with serious expression. Later I knew that brother Liu lived near the hospital because his blood was concentrated due to high blood pressure. He needed regular bloodletting, so they rented a very shabby house near the meeting hall.
The Burden toward the Young People
Being a Father’s Heart
At that time young working saints often pursued the truth together to be perfected. I remembered that once brother Liu specially gathered several nurse sisters in the meeting hall for fellowship. He charged us to pray before the Lord for our marriage partner. He encouraged us that we must be wiser and more far sighted than our contemporaries because we had the Lord’s life within us. At that time, I just felt confused about why he fellowshipped with us about our marriage so early. However, as I grew older, I understood his burden toward the young people in the church. What a father’s heart he had for us!
Having the Power of Stability in the Meeting,
Which Was Beyond Description
In the meeting I saw that he always sits quietly, and occasionally stood up to minister the Word. For several years later he hardly spoke anything in the meeting. However, as long as he was in the meeting, there was the power of stability which was beyond description. Once an elder sister said that she went to fellowship with brother Liu to complain and seek for solution, but when she sits before him, she felt no suffering anymore! How mysterious!
The Portrayal of Brother Liu:
Having Nothing, yet Possessing All
2 Corinthians 6:9-10 says, “As unknown and yet well known; as dying and yet behold we live; as being disciplined and yet not being put to death; as made sorrowful yet always rejoicing; as poor yet enriching many; as having nothing and yet possessing all things.” This is the very portrayal of brother Liu.
Since I was young, I’ve remembered his instruction: “If you only have the light as far as a half step, do not seek for one step and just follow the Lord to take the half step.” This word has led me to live my Christian life and church life for forty years until now. Although brother Liu’s sound and countenance had become fuzzy, his service in life had profound value! I miss him and thankful to him forever!
Sister Xiaoyin Qin-Tang, the church in Taipei
December 23th, 2015