The Chinese refer to those who regularly burn incense and worship idols as “kind men and faithful women.” When you enter a Buddhist temple, you do not feel as warm as you do when you are in the meeting hall. This is an indication that the meaning of human life is Christ, and Christ is the meaning of human life. Wherever Christ is, human life has meaning. Wherever there is no Christ, human life has no meaning. A family that does not have Christ is in misery and darkness. A society that does not have Christ is in darkness, and a country that does not have Christ is pitiful.

We are certain that Taiwan is peaceful and has a prosperous situation because the local churches are here. This is the reason that Taiwan is blessed. This is not a small thing. Man is the meaning of the earth. The meaning of being a human is being a Christian, and [149] the meaning of being a Christian is Christ. Christ is the meaning of our human life.

THE NEW JERUSALEM BEING
 THE CENTER AND THE MEANING
 OF THE NEW HEAVEN AND THE NEW EARTH

Revelation says that when the new heaven and the new earth appear, the New Jerusalem will come down out of heaven (21:1-2). Do not think that the New Jerusalem is a physical city. Revelation uses signs to speak of spiritual things because spiritual things are mysterious. This can be compared to the fact that we cannot take a photograph or draw a picture of electricity, because electricity is mysterious and invisible. The New Jerusalem will be in the new heaven and the new earth, but the New Jerusalem is not a physical city. Revelation uses the sign of a city to describe a spiritual situation. The center and the meaning of the new heaven and the new earth are the New Jerusalem.

THE CHURCH BEING A FORETASTE
 OF THE NEW JERUSALEM

The New Jerusalem is the aggregate of all those who have received the Lord throughout the generations. In other words, we are the New Jerusalem. The New Jerusalem is the center and the meaning of the new heaven and the new earth in the new universe. Although the New Jerusalem is not yet here today, we have a foretaste of the powers of the age to come (Heb. 6:5). The church today is the New Jerusalem. The church is a foretaste of the New Jerusalem. The brothers and sisters in Kaohsiung are the expression of the New Jerusalem in Kaohsiung, and the brothers and sisters in Tainan are the expression of the New Jerusalem in Tainan. When we comprehend this point, we will declare, “Hallelujah! We are the New Jerusalem.”

BEING FILLED WITH CHRIST IN ORDER TO BE
 THE MEANING OF OUR COMMUNITIES

As Christians, we should be joyful and sing even when we are walking. Some saints may say that this is too much, but it is not too much. In every community there is a need for a group of Christians to be filled with the Lord and to sing about the Lord. If we do not [150] sing, we are not proper Christians. As Christians, we are the meaning of our family, our society, and our country. If I am not a Christian, my family is miserable. Without the church and the believers, our society is dark. Without Christ and the church, our country is pitiful.

We thank the Lord that in human society there are Christians and the church. However, we must ask whether we are proper Christians. If we are not proper Christians and if the church is not proper, our society will not have meaning. May the Lord have mercy on us.

In the church we need to be filled with Christ to the extent that we are beside ourselves. Otherwise, we will not be today’s New Jerusalem. We should never have a “Sunday service” or even sing hymns as if we are in a “Sunday service.” We should be full of inspiration when we sing hymns, and we should be joyful when we sing. Those who attend “Sunday services” are influenced by Christianity. The early Christians were not like this. They were joyful people (Acts 2:46).

THE TESTIMONY IN SAN FRANCISCO

The brothers and sisters in San Francisco, especially the young saints, are like the early Christians; they have a special flavor. They wear gospel vests not only during a gospel march but also every day. The students in college and high school are not restricted in what they wear. Hence, the young saints wear their gospel vests even in their classrooms. During lunchtime, the saints form a line and enter the cafeteria singing. When all the other students are focused on them, they declare, “Jesus is Lord!” Then they speak to the students concerning the Lord Jesus as the real food. In this way they preach the gospel and also eat lunch. This is a group of people who are the meaning of human life. Without them, their school has no meaning and neither do the classrooms and the cafeteria.

Not only do the young saints have a special flavor but also the working saints have a special flavor. The working saints are not as free as the students, because they are under the restriction of their companies. However, they wear gospel vests on their way to work, but at the door of their respective companies they take off the vests before entering their offices. As soon as they go outside for lunch, they put on the gospel vests. The saints wear gospel vests when they go to a restaurant also. Sometimes the restaurants do not welcome [151] them, but some people were saved in this way. The saints are the meaning of those restaurants. There is the need for some Christians to declare “Jesus is Lord!” in the restaurants.

BEING BESIDE OURSELVES FOR THE GOSPEL

Preaching the Gospel to Our Family

Suppose a young brother is saved, but his parents are still not saved. The old religious way is to tell him to pray for his parents’ salvation and believe in the Lord’s promise in Acts 16:31. This brother would then pray to the Lord with tears, asking the Lord to have mercy on his family. Sometimes the Lord listens to this kind of prayer. However, there is a better way. The brother may know which evening his parents are at home, and he can ask some young brothers to visit him that night. These young brothers can sing a song to his parents and give a testimony. In this way his parents will be saved, and he will no longer need to cry before the Lord. The Lord does not want us to cry. On the contrary, He wants us to sing triumphant songs, declaring that Jesus is Victor, that all things in heaven and on earth belong to Jesus, and that every country belongs to Him. Not only so, our family and our parents belong to Jesus.

We need to change the way that we preach the gospel. Even the sisters can preach the gospel in this way. A sister can invite other young sisters to her home to testify to her parents. We need the Lord to strengthen us. We are not acting or performing. We are beside ourselves for Jesus.

Paul Being beside Himself in Preaching the Gospel

During May and June of 1935 I returned to Chefoo, and that summer Brother Watchman Nee stayed in my home. During that time we held a week-long conference in Chefoo. One day Brother Nee released a message from 2 Corinthians 5:13: “Whether we were beside ourselves, it was to God.” To be beside oneself means to be seemingly foolish. He also used Acts 26 where, after Paul defended himself before King Agrippa, Festus the governor said to him, “You are insane, Paul. Much learning is driving you insane” (v. 24). Paul said that it was not much learning but that it was God in him who emboldened him to speak freely so that he was beside himself. For this reason Brother Nee said, “Brothers and sisters, I want to tell [152] you that if your believing in Jesus is not to the extent of being foolish, your believing is still not up to the standard.”

Believing in the Lord to Be beside Ourselves

This message touched me, so when I went home, I knelt down and asked the Lord to forgive me because for ten years, from 1925 to 1935, I had believed in Him but not to the extent of being beside myself. Later I learned that if we are up to the standard, we will always be beside ourselves. We are “fools” for Jesus. Once we are beside ourselves, we will also be foolish.