HONG KONG – Indonesia-based evangelist shared his thoughts on the Sichuan earthquake, “Great spirituality cannot arise from a nation that did not undergo great tribulation.”
Rev. Stephen Tong indicated that the Sichuan disaster brought everyone conscientious of the prevalence of injustice. Millions of disaster relief funds and tons of relief supplies were delivered to China; however, there are rumors that some imposters have acquired large disaster-relief funds and supplies for personal gains.
"Today, those who appeared to be the most believable may be doing the worst thing; those who are supposedly doing good have alternative agendas. Many of these relief funds and supplies did not go to the victims. Instead, they fell into the hands of some individuals for personal gain," he addressed the crowd. "While some are helpinig only to pile up personal merits, God is the one who judges. Are these people really serving humanity? This is extremely horrifying."
In the Bible, it says that the heart of man is even more wicked than all of creation. Who can see through the hearts of men? After the earthquake, people recognized the reason why these schools collapsed, killing tens of thousands of students, and it was because of the corruptions in the constructions of the school buildings.
A person in tears cried out asking why is it while all of the schools collapsed, but the government buildings are the only ones remained standing? This earthquake brought the Chinese to realization that many of these corrupted cultures were covered up.
On the bright side, Tong was comforted by various inspirational stories in the midst of this tragedy. Whether in the People’s Liberation Army or the average citizens, the goodness of the mother earth and of the people and the enduring aspect of life can be found, which brought tears to his eyes.
Yesterday morning, before leaving the United States, Tong heard that someone was resuced after being buried for 195 hours and he survived by drinking his own urine. Upon arriving Hong Kong, one of his coworkers told him that some were saved even after being buried for 216 hours.
Furthermore, besides mourning for the victims, Tong urged for everyone to donate money to those who are truly genuine, responsible to God, and compassionate.
"We must do everything that we can," he said.
Through this disaster, Tong shared his realization: Great spirituality cannot be formed from a nation that did not experience great tribulation – just as a spoiled kid will grow up to be very lazy; those who have lived a life of only comfort will never be grateful in the midst of grace.”
[Editor’s note: reporter Sharon Chan from Hong Kong contributed to this report.]
