Never underestimate the effect of living your beliefs.
Back in the 1990's, I was a missionary for the General Conference to China. I followed in the legacy of my great-grandfather, Elder Seabert G. White, who also was a missionary there over one hundred years ago.
I made many friends there, among them a young woman by the name of Chang An who also went by the English name Maria. She wasn't a Christian, let alone a Seventh-day Adventist. But she was musical and had a knack for speaking English.
After I returned to the United States, we kept in sporadic contact. She eventually immigrated to the United States; got a nursing degree; married a delightful Taiwanese-American man; and started a family.
About ten years ago, my family (wife Elena and sons Anton and Elijah) and I took a trip to Los Angeles, which provided an opportunity for us to see ‘Maria’ again after quite a number of years. We were guests at their house and it was like old times with lots of stories about China, life, food, family, and so on. She told how she was now a Christian, and even took me on a tour of the evangelical mega Chinese church which she attended.
What I didn't know was that, good-naturedly, she was lying in wait for me. As we were talking about spiritual themes, she told me how I was wrong to believe in the Sabbath; that it was done away at the Cross etc. I easily rebuffed her claims but she was adamant. She also chided us for being vegetarian because "that certainly isn't Biblical" and "We aren't under the laws of Moses anymore." It was usual stuff but nothing I couldn't answer from Scripture.
And yet, again she was adamant.
Finally she said, "I don't know all these texts like you but I know I'm right. My elderly aunt recently moved here from Beijing. If you could only meet her. She would set you right. She REALLY knows the Bible!"
I could hardly resist such an invitation and as such, made plans the next day to travel across the city to meet with her aunt.
"Hmmph!," I thought. “Some old lady thinks she can get the best of me? Who does she think she is? I'm a fifth generation Seventh-day Adventist! I was a missionary for crying out loud. Why, I've even taught Juniors! Why, I'm a 6'4” man. No little old lady is going to get the best of me!
But if I was going to have a duel with this lady the next day at high noon, I had better be prepared. And so, prepare I did that very night for our showdown.
I happened to have along with me two pearl-handled revolvers chambered to shoot 10mm Commandment rounds. I spent most of the evening hand loading and preparing my proof text ammunition. Genesis 2:2, Exodus 20:8-11, Mark 2:27,28, Isaiah 56:6 and so on. If I shot all those rounds without doing much damage, I still had my reserve ammo in a quick-loading speed clip with Luke 6:9,10, Acts 13:42, 44 and Revelation 11:19. I was loaded for bear!
I checked the action of my weapon. I was all set. I was cocked, locked, and ready to rock (as we used to say in the army)!! No way was THIS woman going to get the better of me in front of my family and what's more, in front of Maria!
The next day we traveled across town to her aunt's apartment. Naturally, we were all friendly and everything. Now, I do speak Chinese but over the years it had gotten quite rusty. Her aunt spoke almost no English so Maria translated for us. What I didn't know was that Maria didn't tell her aunt beforehand that we were Seventh-day Adventists, just that we kept the Sabbath.
After conversing for some time, Maria broached the subject for which we came.
"Auntie," Maria said, "Let's chat about what we came here for. You see, John and Elena are Seventh-day Adventists and they believe that..."
"Seventh-day Adventists???!!!" Auntie interjected. "Oh that's just wonderful! Maria, you probably don't know this, but of all the Christian denominations and believers, Seventh-day Adventists are the only ones who NEVER get divorced! No matter what, they always stay true to their spouses."
I was shocked but the look on Maria's face was one of complete befuddlement. We then talked at length about marriage, family, and the rash of divorces, even among Christians. We both went on further about how Satan is trying to destroy God's people, divorce being just one of his methods to do so.
Maria finally collected her wits about her and decided to ask her aunt to deal with our "unBiblical" vegetarian lifestyle.
"Auntie, I thought maybe you could show some things to them from the Bible about eating because, did you know that John and Elena are vegetarian? And I was hoping that you could....."
"They're vegetarian?” Auntie replied. "Oh that's so good to hear! Did you know, Maria, that vegetarians actually live healthier, happier, and longer than other people do? I've been thinking of doing this kind of lifestyle myself. I know of others who have done so."
Again, the look on Maria's face was one for the ages. Again, I'm not testifying to her, her own aunt is doing so! We continued to talk at length about vegetarianism and other health practices that God asks us to follow.
Not once during our visit did we open a Bible. Not once did we talk about the Sabbath. Not once did I draw out my loaded proof text revolver to put those poor Sunday-keepers out of their evangelical misery.
Reflections
I learned a big lesson that day. There are times when we think the fight is to be ours. And so, we prepare for that fight (and rightly so). But when the showdown eventually occurs on the battlefield, God often says, "This battle is mine!"
And He fights it with his weapons in His way to accomplish His purposes! Only God knew the right way to reach Maria's heart, and it wasn't through my iron-clad proof-texting logic!
Indeed, she learned a lot that day. The weapon of her devising (her aunt), fell as broken straw and she was forced to accept the testimony of her respected aunt that SDA's aren't a bunch of theological weirdos.
But my, my, my oh my. Do I ever want to meet those faithful SDA's from Beijing some day! They actually live out their beliefs, to the fullest!
"Seventh-day Adventists NEVER get divorced." Those words still ring in my ears to this day. What a testimony! What if EVERY Christian in the United States could say that about us?
Do we have any shame on our faces here in the "enlightened" SDA west? We ought to, what with our music, jewelry, Sabbath-breaking, divorcing and so on.
Imagine if all other Christians in the world said, "Of all Christians, only SDA's never drink alcohol; never raise their voice in anger; never get divorced; or never lie. In fact, only SDA's keep the true Sabbath!"
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John Kannenberg is the Director of Great Western Health Foundation, in Fargo, ND