Along the Way

"Duan" and his wife were evangelists in China during the 1950s. Constantly accused of political and criminal offences by an unbeliever named Wu, Duan knew that "imprisonment" or even the threat of "death" was inevitable. He feared what would happen to his infant son whom they named Isaac, as he was their long-awaited child.

One night, Duan's wife heard God's voice in a vision, saying, "Give your son to your enemy." Hours later, the accused Christian read in the Scriptures about God asking Abraham to sacrifice his son. Prayerfully and painfully, Duan and his wife decided to give their baby boy to Wu and his wife who were childless; even though Wu arranged for their arrest. Duan was imprisoned for years and, upon his release, found out his wife had died in 1958 during a time of famine and that his son disappeared with Wu and his family after a devastating earthquake in 1975. Duan was heartbroken.

Years passed. Duan travelled south one Christmas, and the bus he was a passenger on broke down. While in search of shelter from the cold, he happened to come across the home of believers who were on their way to hear a Bible teacher named "Brother Wang." He soon found himself listening to the teacher through an open window. Duan sensed that there was something very familiar about Wang. As he staggered towards the window, his commotion stopped the preaching. In stunned silence, Wang clutched his chest and sobbed, "Are you Daddy Duan?"

Through Duan's selfless act of giving away his son, Wu came to know Jesus. "I'm not your father," Wu often reminded Wang.
"Your real father is a great man of God - full of grace and love. He gave you to me, and I give you all my love and the encouragement to put God first, just like your real dad would have done."

Wang, who became an evangelist, never stopped searching for his real father. That Christmas night, a father and son were reconciled to one another, just as God the Father offers His Son Jesus to reconcile us to Him.