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Growing up in a family with God-fearing, Christ-loving parents, I was encouraged from a young age to follow my parents in pursuing the Lord. However, the pursuit of Christ is not one that can be based on culture or tradition. It is must be based on first-hand, practical and real experience. I attempted to “coast” in my Christian life by accepting my parents' God and trying to live vicariously through their experience. Their church by default became my church. At one point I asked my dad, “Why this church? Why the local church?” My dad's response was “I am here because it is where I am fed and it is here that I have life.” My dad assured me that I was not bound to the church but I was obligated to follow life. I had to give myself to life. Life is the only thing that mattered and I was a seeker of life and reality which can only be found in Jesus Christ (John 14:6). In my situation, I yearned to be with others who also longed after life and reality. In the local church I have definitely found not only seekers pursuing the Lord, but a ministry that is fresh, new and always living. Under the ministry of Witness Lee and Watchman Nee I am fed, supplied and strengthened. In the local church, I appreciate the fact that as we grow in life and enjoy the Lord more, we are brought into function. In the local church there is a care for the oneness of the Body of Christ and because all the believers participate and function, we enjoy a sweet fellowship of life (1 Corinthians 1:9; 2 Corinthians 13:14; 1 John 1:3).
In the local church, reading the books of two men who knew life and enjoyed it to the uttermost, I have been brought into an experience of life and reality that is my own. I am here because it is here that I have tasted life. I will be here as long as there is life and as long as I enjoy life.
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