Page 6 - incense-bearers of han
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FOREWORD
BECAUSE of our personal admiration of the Christian character and fearless
testimony of the author of this book, and of the memory of many hours of delightful
fellowship that we have enjoyed with him, we were most happy to consent when he
asked us to write a Foreword for this volume, which contains a collection of stories
which he has often told from the platform. At the same time, we were just a little bit
fearful that our friend, in attempting to put these tales on paper, might lose something
of his characteristic vigorous and stirring mode of verbal expression, and thus detract,
quiet unwittingly, from the thrilling, spiritual challenge which these true experiences
of twice-born men across the seas offer. But our fears were groundless. We have just
finished reading the galley proofs of Incense-Bearers of Han, and our heart has been
warmed again by these reminders of the grace and power of our Lord Jesus Christ as
they have been manifested in the lives of some of the lovable people of the Far East.
It is said of Dr. Graham that he is one of the most gifted linguists among the
Occidentals. This is due, in part, to the fact that he was born in China, the son of
missionary parents, but it is also because he has recognized that language is the
vehicle of expression, and he has never ceased, even as a veteran missionary, to study
the language itself, and the basic philosophy of the Chinese upper classes, the writings
of the sages of ancient China. It is for this reason that the author has been able to
converse with Chinese nationals of all classes “in their own language”—this is why
he has had opportunities afforded few missionaries, that of intercourse with men such
as Mr. Hu and Mr. Chu, whose story, among others, is told herein.
Incense-Bearers of Han should be, under God, the means of great blessing in many
lives. We are made strongly conscious of our own weakness, of the ineffectiveness of
our own testimony, of the lack of vitality in our own Christian living when we learn of
the positive witness of these Chinese Christians, who are ready to suffer anything for
Christ‟s sake, and who, as a rule rather than as an exception, are called upon to bear
much because of their allegiance to the One Who gave Himself for them. And we
learn how real and operative the power of the indwelling Christ is, in this very day, in
the hearts of those who are willing to reckon themselves dead unto sin and alive unto
God.
The stories are told with a deep insight into the minds and ways of the Chinese;
they are punctuated with touches of humor; they are so realistic that the characters
seem to breathe and walk and speak before our eyes. But most important, there are
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