BOOK

"Lilies of the Field"

by Wang Weifan

Excerpt:

"The beauty of life does not lie in what we put on, but in bearing life's hardships without losing sight of its charm, in encountering the vagaries of the world without losing sight of its beauty. The adornments which the Father gives to his daughters and sons are carved and painted in the deepest recesses of the soul.

The tiny flowers of the field ask nothing for themselves and covet nothing. They are silent, but in their silence, they adorn the field. Their lives are brief; they appear quickly, go quickly. Yet their conscience is clear and they leave behind their fragrance to the land that nourished them."

About the author:

After graduating from Nanjing Theological Seminary in 1955, Wang Weifan went on to serve a small church in nearby Zhenjiang. Criticized during the Anti-Rightist campaign in 1958, and again during the Cultural Revolution, Wang spent the better part of the next two decades away from his theological work, his home and his family. And yet, he never dwelt on the difficulties he experienced during these years, but instead emphasizes that his life and work during the Cultural Revolution helped him to develop a better understanding of people at the grassroots. Wang returned to Nanjing Seminary in the late 1970s to teach theology, preach in local churches and contribute to a variety of Chinese Christian publications.

About the book:

Selections from Lilies of the Field began to appear in Tian Feng, the Chinese Christian periodical, in the early 1980s. In 1985, these were collected together and published in Shanghai as a book of devotions. This small booklet was quickly sold out in the churches and it has proved to be popular among men and women from many different walks of life. Chinese Christians discovered in Lilies of the Field a precious source of spiritual nourishment which can serve as a daily companion for prayer, reflection and Bible study. Lilies of the Field has also been well received by many educated young people and non-Christian intellectuals. For them, it has been a spiritually compelling introduction to the Biblical message and the Christian way, written by a Chinese intellectual who is firmly rooted in his own social and cultural tradition.