Mr. Gong was a happy Christian attorney in China. Often his non-Christian neighbors on the other side of the wall would hear him singing hymns. They said, “Oh, he is happy because God has smiled on him, and he is doing well.”
However, one day Mr. Gong’s little boy died and went to be with Jesus. The neighbors said, “Now Gong will be just like the rest of us in his sorrow. We will hear no singing over the wall tonight.”
Nevertheless, that night Mr. Gong and his family gathered as usual for family worship. Their hearts were filled with sorrow, and yet they sang hymns and praised God just as before. The neighbors were astonished to learn that Christians have an inward joy even in times of sorrow.
That night Mr. Gong remarked, “I’ve never really understood how wonderful it is to be a Christian until this moment. I shall never forget it. God is always with us-both in happy times and in times of sorrow.
ML-04/17/1977