THE BEGINNING OF CONFLICT
A few weeks went by, and then Miss M---- paid a visit to Kucheng. On
her return she said that Mrs. Lü had stopped coming to the meetings, as
she was frightened. At night she was haunted by horrible dreams, and
was afraid she had sinned against her cause in learning our doctrine,
and in listening to the preaching of the Word. So she stayed away
altogether, and began reciting her prayers to Buddha more diligently
than ever before. She determined never to give up her vow, but to go
steadily on, and to be even more earnest in the future, so that if
possible she might find peace and rest for her soul.
In that state we found her when next we visited the place. She was so
unhappy. Till late into the night she could be heard counting her
beads, and reciting her _O-mi-to-fuh_, in earnest and pleading tones.
One Sunday, after the meeting, her husband took down the idols and
burned them publicly. Even to please his wife he could not leave them
any longer. The ancestral tablet was destroyed the same day, and some
Christian scrolls and pictures were hung up, to show that henceforth
the Lord Jesus was to be Master in the house instead of Satan. His
real power was to take the place of the imagined power at the disposal
of the idols. Mr. Lü was so happy when his house was cleansed from
everything idolatrous, and we heartily rejoiced with him, praising God
for his salvation and for his bright testimony.
But as for Mrs. Lü, her face was a picture of sadness. She had not
dared to come to the meeting, but came privately afterwards. We asked
her why she had been sitting alone and miserable in her own house, when
she might have been gathering with others joyfully before the Lord.
The tears started to her eyes, as she answered, "I do want to come, oh
so much, but I dare not, I dare not!" When asked what she was going to
do now, as all the idols had been burned, she said she would have to
recite her prayers without a Buddha to burn incense to.
"What about your beads? Where are they going to be hung?"
"Oh, I don't know. My husband says they cannot be hung on the wall
beside the Word of God."
"You will have to put them in the bedroom."
"That will not do either, for my husband shares that with me, and he
will not have them there."
"Well, then, you must make a corner somewhere in the house, all to
yourself," we told her laughingly, but not laughing in our heart.
Her suffering was evident to all; and one day one of the enquirers
suggested that her husband should secretly give her an egg to eat, and
so break her vow. Turning round, he said, "No, I do not want to do
this, but will continue to pray for her. When the Holy Spirit opens
her understanding, she will break it herself." This gave us an
opportunity of telling him and all present that the Lord would not
compel any one to serve Him, but wanted a willing people. We must
wait, until in His light she would see light, and realize her
nothingness and the utter vanity of her own striving after
righteousness. So she was left with Him who was able to remove the
veil from her face, and lead her into the true and living way, fully
assured that He had already begun a gracious work in her heart.