Christian Women

In the May 1934 issue of “The Other Sheep”, there was a story concerning Mrs. Lien, a very influential Christian woman in a certain area of China. Mrs. Lien was a young widow who grew up as a “mission girl” who attended the Christian school in Chaocheng, and she was converted at school. Afterward, she lost her faith due to a second marriage. Interestingly enough, the second marriage was to a man who professed to be a Christian, and “like many of the general’s soldiers, he did not have a real experience in his heart, or if he did, soon lost it. Mrs. Lien found God again after her second husband’s death. At the time the article was being written, she was studying the bible and even teaching girls in a Home Study Bible Course. Her large heart for the girls she taught (most of whom have never gone to school) was discussed and she was praised as a wonderful teacher and woman of God. There was also mentioned the time that she was speaking with the author of that particular article and Mrs. Lien began crying. Because she was married off to someone who was not her equal in the Christian faith, she understood how much of a problem this could be in remaining faithful to God. And like her, some of the girls were being put into a similar situation.

               What I found to be the most interesting part of the article was the fact that Mrs. Lien’s second marriage was not to someone who was strong in the faith, yet professed to be a Christian. We have seen this problem over and again in the missionary field, and because of his forced or fake beliefs, Mrs. Lien was led to abandon her beliefs. There we find the idea of forced faith again, and I can’t help wondering if as I read more into missions it will get better or not.