Ethereal China: Lessons from the Middle Kingdom

The Art of the Swerve

Chinese driving is... interesting. Red lights? Merely a suggestion. Pedestrians? Objects to be swerved around and honked at. Motorcycles? A challenge to see how many people can pile onto one frame. With no seat belts, bicycle helmets, or baby car seats, there is a certain terrifying sense of "freedom."

Taxis will follow you as you walk, hovering like patient predators until you get fed up with the heat or the distance. They’ll take you almost anywhere for $2.

Life Lesson: Who says getting somewhere should be boring?

"Don’t Be Scary"

"My English name is Haha," our guide to the Great Wall informed us. "It means laughter."

She was full of pragmatic advice: "If you are buying pearls for your wife, buy top quality. If they are for your girlfriend, get them on sale." I’ll let you make up your own life lesson for that one.

Haha took us to what she called the "Emperor’s Palace." It was not what I expected. Who builds a palace underground? We descended five dark, cold flights of stairs deep into the earth. The air was deathly quiet and eerie. In the weak light of a single bulb, we saw three stone thrones: one for the deceased Emperor, one for his wife, and one for his favorite concubine.

The next room held empty trunks that once housed treasures for the afterlife—treasures that now sit in a museum. The Emperor thought he had everything, when in reality, he had nothing. As we left, Haha called out, "Have a nice dream." Perhaps she knew the place was the stuff of nightmares.

Life Lesson: "For what will it profit a man, if he gain the whole world but lose his own soul?" — Mark 8:36

The Breath of Life

In Beijing, breathing the air for one day is reportedly equivalent to smoking seventy cigarettes. The streets often look like a walking surgical ward, filled with people in face masks. It makes you pause.

Life Lesson: Appreciate the air we breathe. If it wasn't for God, we wouldn't take our next breath. "In Him we live and move and have our being." — Acts 17:28

The Great Adventure

Seeing the Great Wall was a true adventure—cable car up, and a massive slide down. I completely recommend it! There is so much I miss about that land:

• The People: Their resilience and kindness.

• The Landscape: Beautifully manicured and ancient.

• The Mystery: Grocery stores filled with "mysterious" items.

• The Joy: Dancing in the streets (and the locals politely ignoring my inability to keep up).

• The Atmosphere: Old-fashioned lamps lighting lagoons filled with froggy choruses.

A Better Country

I miss the ethereal beauty of China, but it makes me think of what is to come. Jesus told us He is preparing a place for us. The late Keith Green once posed a profound question:

"If Earth is so beautiful after six days of creation—what does Heaven look like after 2,000 years?" I cannot even imagine the glory of that place. I pray you will be there with me.

Blessings, Beloved of God.