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Scripture Reading: Luke 15:4-6, 8-9, 20-23
Although Hymns, #471 speaks of a saint returning to the Lord, we rarely sing this hymn because we have neglected the matter of restoring the dormant saints. I wrote this hymn at the start of the work in Taiwan because I felt a need to help the saints who were weak, backslidden, or cold. I used this hymn to stir up an atmosphere to help the weak ones and restore the backslidden ones. When we first arrived in Taiwan, we did not have an atmosphere of preaching the gospel, studying the truth, and pursuing the growth in life. We also did not have an atmosphere of taking care of people or serving the Lord. Hence, we felt that we needed to stir up such an atmosphere.
Today people in the world do things systematically, and the best systems are based on the Bible. The Bible comes from God, and its principles are known and used by many. For instance, the American founding fathers were influenced by the Puritans, who revered God. America is a strong and prosperous country because many of its governmental systems are based on principles found in the Bible. The concept of democracy practiced in America is rooted in principles spoken of in both the Old and New Testaments. In the Old Testament God commanded Moses to tell the Israelites not to rule over their brothers with severity so as to annul their rights (Lev. 25:46). In the New Testament the Gospel of Luke speaks of recovering human rights through the jubilee (4:18-19). After God’s people entered the good land of Canaan, God allotted a portion of land to each tribe and to each family, each household (Num. 33:53-54). If a man sold his possession but did not have sufficient means to restore it himself, then in the year of jubilee he could return to his possession. Thus, there was no possibility of an Israelite possessing large amounts of land in perpetuity (Lev. 25:8-17, 23-28).
When the jubilee arrived every fifty years, a trumpet was sounded (v. 9), and the land sold to another Israelite would no longer belong to him. The Bible does not say that the land was returned to the original owner; rather, it says that “each of you shall return to his possession” (v. 10). This is a recovering of human rights. A man may have sold his land and may have even fallen into the pitiful condition of selling himself into slavery, but according to God’s ordination, he was no longer a slave as soon as the trumpet sounded and the jubilee arrived. Both he and his master instantly became equal before God, and the man who sold his land could return to his dwelling and possession. Therefore, every fifty years, land ownership among the Israelites was reallocated and balanced out. This is a marvelous matter. Today many excellent systems and principles in human communities are based on the Bible, and the highest ethical and moral standards and regulations are found in the Bible.
When God moves, He begins by stirring up an atmosphere. In the case of the jubilee this stirring up was accomplished by sounding the trumpet throughout the land. Even when the Israelites left Egypt and followed Moses, they moved according to the blowing of silver trumpets (Num. 10:2). In their journey with Moses they never stayed in one place very long, because a long encampment would cause them to be slothful. The Israelites moved by listening for the blowing of two silver trumpets. The sounding trumpets stirred up an atmosphere in preparation for the move of the children of Israel.
In the Old Testament the blowing of trumpets stirred up an atmosphere. In the New Testament the atmosphere was first stirred up by John the Baptist (Matt. 3:1-3). Then the Lord Jesus (4:17), the twelve disciples (Mark 3:14-19), the seventy disciples (Luke 10:1), and the one hundred twenty disciples stirred up an atmosphere (Acts 1:15). Today an atmosphere of the gospel has been stirred up in the whole earth. In 1949, when I came to Taipei to start the work, I felt that the first thing we needed to do was to stir up an atmosphere of the gospel.
In order to stir up an atmosphere of the gospel in Taipei in our initial stage, we determined the population of Taipei and then printed and distributed gospel tracts so that every resident in Taipei could receive one. In our practice we did not act on impulse, passing out tracts in a random way. Furthermore, we were not superstitious, thinking that with prayer alone the wind would blow and carry our tracts to every household. We asked the saints to come together and look at the map of the city of Taipei. Then we divided the city into small districts, studied the situation of every street, and decided which brothers and sisters should be responsible for each district. After receiving the tracts, the brothers and sisters placed them in mailboxes, going from house to house, covering the streets assigned to them so that every resident of the city would receive a gospel tract. This stirred up a gospel atmosphere.
Next we printed posters. We used four colors — red, yellow, blue, and green — to prepare posters with slogans, such as “Believe in Jesus and be saved,” “Jesus Christ came to the world to save sinners,” and “God loves the world.” Then we placed these posters at train stations, bus stations, crossroads, important intersections, and on the front doors of the saints’ homes. In this way people who were walking on the streets of Taipei could identify the homes of the saints. As the number of believers increased, the city of Taipei was filled with these posters.
We also sent out gospel teams. Gospel teams were first used in Shanghai, and we often had more than eight hundred on a team that would march through Shanghai. When the team reached the Bund, a major downtown district in Shanghai, we would shout with a loud voice, “Oh, Shanghai! Repent quickly! If your sins do not go, peace cannot come.” This stirred up a gospel atmosphere. When we started our work in Taipei, we strengthened the gospel teams, which were sent out in several ways. One team would go out on a regular basis in the evenings. With lanterns in their hands, the teams would go through the streets and small alleys shouting slogans, such as “Repent!” and “Believe in the Lord!”
Another team would leave from hall one on the Lord’s Day afternoon, divide into four groups, and walk toward New Park. We would walk according to the beating of drums and sing, “You need Jesus! You need Jesus! / Men and women all need Him! / For redemption you need Him, / For salvation you need Him! / And for everlasting life, / Yes, you need Jesus!” (Hymns, #1024). The four groups would take different routes and enter the park through its four gates. As we paraded through the streets, we gathered people into the park. People would stream in from all sides. New Park has over a thousand seats, and they were immediately filled. When everyone arrived, we would begin to sing hymns and preach a gospel message.
This was how we stirred up an atmosphere in those days. After gospel tracts were distributed and every street was saturated with gospel posters, people were easily attracted by the beating of the gospel drums on the streets. Every Lord’s Day we would go to New Park to preach the gospel, and in the afternoon we would come back with four to five hundred names. We did this continuously for one to two years. During this time quite a number were saved, and some even became responsible brothers in different churches. We also had a meeting every Monday evening for saints who were burdened to visit the ones who had given us their names. We distributed these names to the saints, and they would go to visit them. This practice brought in an outpouring of the Holy Spirit, and many people were deeply impressed with the gospel.
When we first started the work in Taiwan, we had only a few hundred brothers and sisters, but we very quickly increased to tens of thousands. This increase would not have been possible without stirring up an atmosphere of the gospel. At the same time, we also stirred up an atmosphere of pursuing the truth. Once a person is saved, he desires to know the truth. During this initial stage, we would share from Crucial Truths in the Holy Scriptures, and eventually we began to release life-study messages. [Editor’s note: These messages are different from the messages that currently constitute the Life-study of the Bible.] I will never forget that a certain brother would travel a long distance by car just to come to hear these messages because an atmosphere of pursuing the growth in life, of consecration, and of loving the Lord had been stirred up.
Hymns, #471 uses an 8.8.6.8.8.6. metrical form; that is, the words in each stanza are in two lines of eight syllables and one line of six syllables, which are repeated twice. The sound is very regular and rhythmic. I mention this hymn because I want to stir up an atmosphere of seeking out our brothers and sisters. Stanza 1 says, “How can I ever stay away / And grieve Thy Spirit all the day / While Thou dost wait for me? / I now am willing to return, / And wait no longer, for I yearn / Henceforth to follow Thee.”
The last line of the first stanza says, “Henceforth to follow Thee.” As we sing, our spirit will be stirred up. As we sing another verse, our spirit will go forth. As we continue singing, we will desire to seek out people, just as the Lord Jesus did, who after being incarnated in the flesh, was willing to go to the cross because of His deep desire to gain man. We have more than fifty thousand information cards with the names of our dear brothers and sisters in the Lord, but we do not know where many of them are currently living. These are our family members, but our care for them is so lacking that we do not even know where they are living. This is not proper.
Lord, we are here before You. Stir up an atmosphere among us so that we would receive a burden to take Your heart as our heart and to take Your love as our love. We are here before Your throne; may You especially remember these fifty thousand brothers and sisters. We are touching Your throne of grace; we are praying for them and looking to You concerning them. O Lord, revive them and operate in them even as we are praying for them. May the indwelling Spirit cause them to have a renewed feeling; light the lamp within them, sweep in them, and seek them. O Lord, hear our prayer. Cause us to truly receive a burden to bow our knees before You and pray for them. May each brother and sister receive ten, twenty, or thirty information cards and seek out and visit these saints, one by one, until they find them and bring them back to the church.
O Lord Jesus! We pray that You would do this work not only in the hearts of a small number of saints but also in all who meet regularly so that everyone will have a sense of responsibility and a burden, realizing that we are members one of another. Many of the saints who are wandering and lost are still on this island. We call on You, Lord, for mercy and grace; manifest Your works; use the outward environment and the inward sense to touch these ones. Stir not only in us but also in them, just as You worked in Peter and in Cornelius so that there would be a response on both sides. Lord, recover these saints, one by one and household by household.
May You gain the glory, and may Your enemy be shamed. May blessing and grace be unto these brothers and sisters. Bless them, bless their family, bless their physical health, and bless their children. Bless them in every way. Bless this country, this society, and especially the city of Taipei. Lord, we thank You that You have caused this country to be prosperous, to be peaceful, and to have such a high standard of education so that we can all live and work in peace with joy. Thank You for a situation that is so suitable for the work of the gospel and for the building up of the church. Lord, bless the authorities over us; visit our senior officials, and give them wisdom. May their hearts be pure, and may they revere and fear You. Lord, bless every country, city, and town that reveres You. Thank You for listening to our prayer and accepting our prayer. Glory be to You. Amen.
The first move of the church must be to recover the saints who have not been meeting and those with whom we have lost contact. According to our records, this is not a small matter. The church in Taipei has more than fifty thousand information cards. If we subtract the ones who meet regularly, the ones who have gone abroad, and the small number who have passed away, there are still at least forty-five thousand. Since the church in Taipei typically accounts for about half of the saints on Taiwan, there should be more than ninety thousand dormant saints on the whole island.
These saints are the harvest from our past labor and hard work. They were baptized, and they filled out information cards. They are our family members, but they have all disappeared; therefore, we must take this matter seriously. Now is the time to put the affairs of our household in order, and the first matter we should address is to find these saints in order to bring them back. If we would do this thoroughly by the Lord’s grace, we could recover two-thirds of them within two to three years. It would not be surprising to recover three to five thousand during the first half of this year, but recovering the majority will require a long-term effort by the saints who regularly meet in small groups. This is something that requires labor, but at least two-thirds will be recovered if we do it well. If thirty thousand saints are recovered, this will greatly strengthen the testimony and service of the church in Taipei.
In order to recover these brothers and sisters, our initial plan is to thoroughly examine the existing information cards. Among the fifty thousand names in the church in Taipei, about ten thousand of the addresses are accurate. Of this number, there are approximately five to six thousand saints who participate in the church life regularly and about six thousand more who come to an occasional meeting. Thus, we have accurate address information for these saints. The information regarding these six thousand saints who occasionally meet has been distributed to each small group; this is a very good situation. We need to begin by recovering the brothers and sisters who seldom attend meetings but whose whereabouts are known. This involves a work of visitation and restoration.
We also need to locate the nearly forty thousand saints whose whereabouts are unknown. This is very time consuming, and we are in the process of looking for a way that the churches in Taiwan can coordinate with each other in order to find these saints. We have begun by distributing these information cards to each small group so that they can at least go to the addresses that are listed on the cards. This is a way for us to begin to restore these saints.
The key to recovering these saints is for the brothers and sisters who regularly meet in the small groups to receive a burden. Without a burden it will be difficult to move; with a burden there will be grace. We need a burden to visit eight or nine, not just one or two. On average, each saint needs to be willing to contact at least eight. This is a great and difficult task. Nevertheless, I want to encourage you with one statistic: when the number of saints attending the meetings increases to forty thousand, approximately one out of every thirty people in Taipei will be one of our brothers and sisters. This will make it quite easy for us to penetrate every social level with the gospel. We will have brothers and sisters in every trade and profession, whether accountants, business owners, army generals, university professors, homemakers, or taxi drivers.
Our testimony needs to be strengthened. The saints who are wandering outside are scattered and not enjoying the riches of our family. They are truly like the prodigal son who could not find even carob pods to eat (Luke 15:13-16). But in the Father’s house, in God’s house, which is the church, the food is plentiful. Therefore, we must be compassionate toward them and bring them home to enjoy the riches in the Father’s house with us.
Before going out, we need to pray thoroughly. I can absolutely testify to the effectiveness of prayer. In 1932, when the Lord raised up the church in Chefoo, I could see the effectiveness of our prayer every day. The Lord would bring people in ways that were quite wonderful. We have to believe that our concern matches the Lord’s concern on the throne; in fact, His concern has touched us to be concerned for others. Thus, we must receive a burden to pray. In the beginning we may not know the names of the ones who need to be restored. We may only know that there are forty to fifty thousand who need our prayer. We can tell the Lord, “Remember these saints.” I believe that if two to three thousand pray daily, the Lord will hear our prayer.
Along with prayer, we will distribute the information cards according to geographic regions, and we will encourage the saints to fellowship in the small groups. For instance, we can say to one another, “This sister has not been to a meeting for a while. Do we know a sister who is close to her and who could go and visit her?” If no one knows her, we could ask, “Is there anyone who is willing to receive a burden to go to her?” Since each card contains details related to age, family situation, parents, and children, we will be able to fellowship about a saint’s particular condition. With such fellowship, some will receive a burden to go and visit.
Visiting dormant saints needs much consideration. If we do not do it properly, we will drive them further away. If our visiting will only drive them further away, it would be better not to visit them. When saints ask me what they should do when they visit, it is difficult to give a specific answer because I have found that my ways do not always work.
Consider the example of boxing. A teacher may teach boxing in the classroom in one way, but when it comes to the actual boxing match, the teacher’s instructions may not work. In a boxing match, one has to make adjustments according to the actual situation. Consequently, the most important matter in visiting is to have a praying and learning spirit, saying, “O Lord, only You can restore this one.” None of us can do this in ourselves. Those with no experience will certainly face difficulties, but even those with experience cannot rely on what they have learned in the past, because every person’s situation is different. We must look to the Lord, praying, “Have mercy on me. I can do nothing. Give me the wisdom and the words I need to speak.”
When we visit the dormant saints, we must avoid inappropriate speaking. For example, we should not say, “We are visiting you because you have not been to a meeting for a while.” Since the one we are visiting will have some sense of shame related to not being in the meetings, there is no need to remind him of this fact. There is no need to expose weaknesses or faults. We must look upon these saints as being without any blemish (Eph. 5:27). To speak of such matters is inappropriate.
We also must avoid using words that give them a sense of being pressured. We must not urge them to come back to the meetings or chastise them for not being in the meetings, saying, “It is not good to miss the meetings. If you do not meet, you will miss out on the blessing in the church.” Such words are inappropriate and should be avoided. We should not expose people’s weaknesses or tell them that they must come to the meetings. Even when we give a testimony of how we have been blessed, we can inadvertently imply that they are not blessed, and if we speak of how we have been richly supplied by attending all the meetings, they may only be reminded that they have not attended any meetings recently. This kind of speaking should be avoided altogether. A testimony should not be a pretext to preach, to beat, or even to chastise the dormant saints for not loving the Lord. Someone who has not been in a meeting for a long time is very sensitive; he may have many feelings that cause him to be suspicious and overly sensitive; thus, it is easy for him to misinterpret our words. Visiting people is not easy, and we must pay attention to a person’s condition.
When we visit a dormant brother or sister, we must not speak carelessly. Visiting such ones is like skating on thin ice. If we are a little careless, we may fall through the ice and damage them as well. Therefore, we must not speak in a light way. We need a joyful face, and we should give them no reason to feel any pressure or anxiety. Even saying, “I am really concerned for you,” will only make some secretly wonder whether our concern is only based on their weakness. Careless words will cause psychological reactions, and they must be avoided.
In principle, when we visit people, we must have a smiling face, a face without sorrow or sadness. At the same time, we need to let people speak. We do not need to say so much; rather, we should join in with what they are speaking, following their topic in sincerity. Yet even in this, we need wisdom. For instance, a brother may say, “I am really ashamed that I have not gone to a meeting for a long time.” It would not be good to follow by saying, “Yes, it is wrong not to meet!” It also may not be good to even say, “God still loves you,” because this may open a hidden wound. We need much learning and consideration concerning these matters. When we visit the saints, eight out of ten will indicate that they are ashamed about not meeting. A better way to follow may be to speak of our own experience, saying, “Even when I missed meetings in the past, the saints were always happy to see me when I came.” Or if we have had contact with him in the past, we could say, “That does not matter. I really missed you.” We need much practice, because a person who has not met for a while is very sensitive. This is a very crucial matter.
Some have suggested that we should pray with a brother or sister who has not been meeting for a while, but we should not be too quick in this regard. In the matter of visiting we must hold firm to one principle: we should be careful about the things we speak. More than speaking, we just need to smile because of our joy in seeing them. This will spontaneously draw them close to us.
I was born in Christianity, and I went to Christian schools, but by the time I was sixteen, I began to despise Christianity. It seemed as if the Bible did not teach anything better than Confucius’s teachings, so I did not see why we needed Western teachings. The reputation of some pastors and evangelists was also not very good. Hence, by the time I reached the age of sixteen, I felt that Christianity was not very meaningful, so I stopped attending Sunday services. Even though my mother was not saved, she was zealous for Christianity, but she could not make me go to the Sunday services. During this period of time, the Lord’s mercy was surely very marvelous. My second sister, due to the sudden passing away of her fiancé, was willing to consecrate herself to study in a distinguished seminary in Nanking. Before leaving home, she entrusted me to the care of a Chinese pastor named Yu.
Pastor Yu was truly saved, and even though he was not so clear about the truth, he was a very proper person. When he came to visit me, he often would say nothing more than, “I am here to see you.” Sometimes he would gently convey an invitation to attend the Sunday morning service. His words were not so direct, but I did not respond. He would come again a week later with the same approach; he would not speak much, but he would have a smiling face. Even though I knew that he wanted me to go to the Sunday service, I would not go. One day he came and just said, “Mr. Lee, the New Year is coming. I am afraid that I will not be able to come and see you for the next few weeks. After the New Year I will come again to visit you.” I truly believe that Pastor Yu was praying for me during this time, and no doubt my sister was desperately praying for me because she knew my condition. At that time I was not saved, I was not attracted to the Lord, and I did not agree with Christianity. This is why my sister had such a burden for me and asked Pastor Yu to visit me.
In 1925 I was nineteen years old and full of vitality. On the second day of the Chinese New Year, which was a Lord’s Day, I should have gone out to have a good time, like the worldly people. However, something wonderful happened that day. When I woke up that morning, I had no interest in pursuing pleasure; in fact, I had no motivation to do anything. My mother earnestly hoped that I would attend the Sunday service, so that morning she prepared a delicious breakfast. After I was finished, she casually asked, “Today is the second day of the New Year; do you plan to go anywhere?” I replied, “I was thinking about going to Pastor Yu’s Sunday service.” My mother, of course, readily agreed with me, so I put on my Chinese long gown and went to the service. I had not been to a service for years, and I was willing to return only because of Pastor Yu’s visits.
When we go to visit the saints, it is often better not to speak than to speak, and if we have to speak, we should not speak too much. All we need is a smiling countenance and a short visit of about half an hour. The Holy Spirit can do the rest. After we visit, we should not go back too soon. It is not unreasonable to wait for two weeks, because another visit after a short period of time is like a doctor giving too much medicine to a sick patient. We do not need to be quick or rushed; rather, we should trust in the work of the Holy Spirit. We must believe that the Holy Spirit will work in this kind of visitation.
That year, on the second day of the New Year, I attended the service at Pastor Yu’s denomination. Although the sermon was not outstanding and I did not really understand it, I felt that it would be good to go every week. Therefore, I made a resolution: “From now on I will not go to play. I will work hard on my studies to receive a good education, and every Lord’s Day I will go to this chapel to sit for an hour and a half.” From then on I went to Sunday service every week. Three or four months later Pastor Yu announced, “Every season we have a baptism here. Whoever is willing may come next Saturday for an interview. If we feel that you are ready, we will baptize you the next morning.”
When Saturday came, I went. Pastor Yu was very familiar with me, and he introduced me to everyone, saying, “There is no problem with Mr. Lee. His sister is studying in the seminary, his mother is a church member, and their household has been zealous for several generations, so he can be baptized.” Thus, I passed the interview. Actually, I did not understand anything at the time. I knew a little about the Lord Jesus dying on the cross for me and that He loved me, but I did not know much beyond this. Since they were all so happy, I received the baptism by sprinkling and was admitted to the denomination that Lord’s Day. I surely did not have much feeling, and I had never prayed once; I merely did what the denomination told me to do.
Two or three weeks after my baptism, an announcement was made about a young sister named Peace Wang, who was raised in China and was very powerful in preaching the gospel in Shanghai and Hangchow. All the local denominations jointly invited her to Chefoo, and although I did not care about the gospel, I was curious and wanted to hear this young sister preach. When I went into the meeting, I heard her speak about Satan usurping man based on Exodus 1, which speaks of Pharaoh usurping the children of Israel and not letting them serve God. Although she was only five or six years older than I, I was shocked by her speaking and singing in the meeting. I was born in Christianity, and I had heard many preachers, but her preaching was different from what I had heard in the past. There were about one thousand in the meeting, and as soon as the singing of the hymns began, many were subdued. I was no exception. I was affected deeply. At that time I had just made up my mind to concentrate on the pursuit of my studies in order to be successful in this world. I was anxious, restless, and intent on gaining the world. The words in Sister Peace Wang’s message spoke directly to my current situation, and I was truly captured.
I will never forget that day. After the meeting was over, while I was on my way home, I stopped at a corner and looked up to heaven and said, “O God, I believe in You, and I want You. If someone would give me the whole world, I would not want it. I only want You.” I was determined to take my Bible and preach the gospel from village to village after I graduated from college. I did not want to do anything but preach the gospel; this was my prayer to the Lord when I was called. Little did I know that the Lord would bring me not only from village to village but also from continent to continent. Surely this is His leading.
Speaking about my salvation and the Lord’s calling almost brings tears to my eyes. I will always remember Pastor Yu and be grateful to him. Later, the Lord raised up a church in my hometown, and I preached the truth there. Around 1932 or 1933 Pastor Yu came to attend our meeting. He was so happy to see that a young man whom he had visited was preaching the truth. His visits were truly effective.
As long as we visit people, this is good enough. Many times our words are not appropriate, and because we do not know their inner condition, it is easy to hurt them and cause them to feel bad. However, if we go with a cheerful countenance, they will be comforted and touched. They will feel that neither the Lord nor the church has forgotten them. This will give the Holy Spirit a great opportunity to work in them.
May we all grasp this principle. In the matter of visiting, we must first have a burden to pray and then visit according to the Lord’s leading. It is good as long as we go. Our going is enough. This will bring comfort and encouragement to the saints, and they will sense both love and joy. We should not expect quick results in visiting. Looking for quick results often leads to the opposite effect and brings in much frustration. There is no need to exert too much energy; we only need to go and visit with a burden. I surely learned a great lesson related to this from Pastor Yu’s visits.
We must take the Lord’s heart as our heart and treasure the lost sheep (Luke 15:4-6), loving the brothers and sisters who have not been to a meeting for a long time and paying the price to find them. Although there is a price to pay in visiting people, requiring not only the expense of time and energy but even a considerable amount of thought, the price the Lord paid was much higher. We must have a spirit to lay these dormant saints on our shoulders like lambs and bring them back to the church. We must take outward actions and bear an inward burden. In this way, sooner or later they will be brought back to the church.
As we seek out the saints, we must rely on the work of the Holy Spirit. I truly believe that my return to the meetings was altogether the work of the Holy Spirit; it was the Holy Spirit who brought me back. The work of the Spirit is likened in Luke 15 to a woman who lights a lamp to seek a lost coin. The Holy Spirit is able to shine upon the saints with the Lord’s word and is willing to search for them until they are found (vv. 8-9).
We must love others with the Father’s love. We all know the story of the father who eagerly welcomed his prodigal son in chapter 15 of the Gospel of Luke. When the son came to himself and thought about returning home, he considered the words of repentance that he would speak to his father (v. 18). On the day he returned home to his father, he said, “I am no longer worthy to be called your son” (v. 21), but the father said to his slaves, “Bring out quickly the best robe and put it on him, and put a ring on his hand and sandals on his feet. And bring the fattened calf; slaughter it, and let us eat and be merry, because this son of mine was dead and lives again” (vv. 22-24). This shows that the father had only love toward his son.
We must take the Lord’s heart as our heart. As our brothers and sisters return, our hearts must be filled with love for them, and we must minister Christ to them. The father spoke only of slaying the fattened calf in celebration of his son’s return; he did not mention things from the past or touch his son’s wounds. He forgot the past. Even if the dormant saints want to bring up their past, we must let them know that it is not necessary, because of the Lord’s grace. We should only minister Christ to them. The robe in Luke 15 is Christ, and the fattened calf is also Christ. Thus, as our brothers and sisters return, we can minister what we have experienced and enjoyed of Christ according to the need. In this way we will gradually recover them. I hope that we will receive this burden and actively stir up the small groups to seek out, visit, and restore the saints who have been absent from the meetings for a long time.
