I was raised in a Christian family in Auckland, New Zealand, but did not have much realization concerning the significance of Christ and the Bible. As I grew up I became more aware of problems that threatened our very existence such as: nuclear war, global pollution, and the increasing consumption of the earth’s resources. This caused me to question, Why are we here, what is the purpose of human life? Is this our destiny, just to destroy our environment and our race?
I began to consider the existence of God who is sovereign over the affairs of humanity and even has a purpose for our existence on this earth that far transcends all our human endeavors. With these considerations foremost in my mind on New Year’s Eve in 1979 I met a couple of Christians who presented to me the notion that God desires to communicate with human beings. Although the lines of communication had been broken, God in the person of Jesus Christ had restored them, and by simply accepting Him into our heart communication is now open to all.
Following this experience I began to read the Bible. I began in the New Testament with Matthew’s gospel. While some of my questions were answered further questions were also raised. The Bible seemed like a giant jigsaw puzzle with many pieces, but how did they all fit together? Around this time, while I was in my first year at Auckland University, I came in contact with a group of Christians who were meeting on the campus and reading the Life-study of Matthew by Witness Lee. In these messages I learned the intrinsic significance of the verse “Be perfect as your heavenly Father is perfect” and the meaning of the parables of the mysteries of the kingdom that not only made sense to my logical mind but also witnessed as true in my spirit.
Since that time I have read many writings of Watchman Nee and Witness Lee and have met Witness Lee personally. Although many great Christian writers have seen a number of precious pieces of this puzzle, Watchman Nee and Witness Lee not only knew the significance of these pieces but how to put them together. Yet, rather than being proud of what they had seen, they were more than willing to humbly acknowledge the debt that they owed to great Christian writers who went before them. Through their putting together of the pieces of the puzzle I not only came (and more and more am coming) to realize the meaning of my human life, but also the purpose of the ages and God’s working in history. Their piecing together of the pieces is not merely to impart information but to relate these pieces to human experience and the fulfilling of God’s eternal plan, or economy. Eternity alone will tell how much the ministry of these two brothers has contributed to the fulfilling of God’s economy.
R.G.