A MAN without a country! A strange and exceptional case indeed, yet such is the predicament in which Fong Jung finds himself. At this moment, while I write, he is in all probability still sailing to and fro between the Southern States and the Spanish Main, waiting for a chance to reach some country where he will be welcomed.
It appears from the Limon Weekly News, that he has lived for some years in Nicaragua, and took a passage from that country in the steamship “John Wilson,” bound for New Orleans.
According to the immigration laws of the United States, he was not allowed to land. According to the laws of Nicaragua no Chinaman is allowed to return after having once left. Poor Fong Jung thus finds himself in a most perplexing dilemma. The country to which he bade farewell has closed its doors against him; the haven he desired to reach refuses to receive him.
Does it strike you, reader, that this is a case of “history repeating itself”? The case of Fong Jung portrays in miniature the case of the whole human race.
In the Garden of man pushed out from the blissful shores of Innocence in the boat of sin. Never again can he land upon those, shores; Innocence, with its entire ignorance of sin, can never again be the portion of the race that has forfeited it. The flaming swords of the angelic guardians whom God placed at the gates of Eden, forever bar man’s return. Whatever his future may be, man can never regain the estate of his first parents.
This being the case, one’s thoughts naturally turn to another country where, perhaps, one may find a home. Heaven suggests itself to one’s mind, and one takes it for granted that admittance there will be accorded.
But is this so? Is any and every wanderer free to land upon the golden shores of the New Jerusalem? What says the Book of Truth? “There shall in no wise enter into it anything that defileth, neither worketh abomination, or maketh, a lie” (Rev. 21:2727And there shall in no wise enter into it any thing that defileth, neither whatsoever worketh abomination, or maketh a lie: but they which are written in the Lamb's book of life. (Revelation 21:27)). Does not this effectually bar the gate of heaven against the unclean and sin-laden child of Adam? Can any of us, sinners as we all are, hope to annul the fiat of Almighty God, and force an entrance to His city in spite of His plain declaration, that nothing that defileth shall ever enter. Impossible!
Not one of us can urge the plea that he is free from defilement, for the Bible says, “They are all together become filthy,” and “all have sinned.” None can say that he is better than others, for God’s Word is clear that in this matter of sinner-ship “there is no difference.”
This makes the sinner’s position an exceedingly serious one. Have you ever thought of it? A return to man’s first condition in blissful innocence is impossible because of SIN, and the country in which you fain would dwell in the ages to come is closed against evil of every kind. In view of this what do you propose to do?
The laws of the United States forbid the Chinese laborer to land upon its shores. Fong Jung was aware of this, and in order to secure his purpose he booked his passage in the steamer as a merchant. During the voyage his conduct was consistent with his assumed character, and deceived the captain and the crew of the vessel as well as his fellow-passengers.
In like manner the sinner may assume a religious character, and make a profession of Christianity that shall deceive all who know him. He may pass through life in the guise of a pilgrim to the better land, and like Fong Jung he may sincerely expect that this will suffice for his admittance into the country he wishes to reach.
But sooner or later the discovery of his mistake must come. With Fong Jung, all seemed going well until the “John Wilson” reached the port and the customs officials came on board to investigate. Cross-examination followed, and the assumed “Chinese” merchant was ascertained to be nothing but a common laborer, to whom admittance could not be granted. He was therefore turned away at the very portals of the desired haven.
A serious thing for him! But how infinitely more serious for you, reader, if you are traveling through life as a professed Christian, though in reality you have never been born again, you know nothing of conversion, you have never bowed at the Saviour’s feet, a heart-broken, sin-convicted, repentant seeker for pardon.
Be sure of this: the investigation day will come! In that day every mask will be torn off, every empty profession exposed, every secret of the heart and life laid bare, every sin dragged into the light. All will appear in their true colors, and the devices that serve men on earth will be useless then. It will be proved then, that God must have reality. Fong Jung gained nothing in the end by his pretension to be a merchant, nor will any man gain aught by a profession that has no vitality in it.
But to be real and honest is to own that I am full of sin; and if heaven is closed against all sin, how am I to escape from the dilemma I am in?
The means by which it is expected that the homeless Chinaman, Fong Jung, will ultimately find a way out of his difficulty, will help us in seeking an answer to the foregoing question.
The paper which gives the account of his case asks: “What will become of the Chinaman? Some one has said that he is, practically doomed to spend the remainder of his life on the high seas. In any event he is at least doomed to sail backwards and forwards between New Orleans and Nicaragua, until the ‘John Wilson’s’ captain has the good fortune to meet a ship at sea whose master will consent to take the Chinaman off his hands, and take a chance of landing him in some other country. Until that time Fong Jong must sail the high seas.... Unless the ‘John Wilson’ hails a, vessel bound for England, whose master will take the Chinaman, he must remain as he is now, a man without a country.”
From this it appears that Fong Jung’s only hope lies in the intervention of another.
The sinner’s only chance of reaching heaven lies in the same direction. Unless intervention comes from One who is willing to take him just as he is, and able to provide safety and a kind reception for him, he must forever remain an exile from heaven, home, and happiness.
Now glad tidings have come into the world from God Himself, telling us that there is such a One, and that He made the long, painful journey from the glory-throne to the cross in order to save us. For it must be evident to all, that if it is our sin that bars the gate of heaven against us, then the sin-question must be dealt with in a satisfactory manner if any of us are ever to be admitted there.
This is just what the blessed Saviour has done. On the cross He became the sin-bearer, and made full atonement to God on the sinner’s behalf. The result of that mighty work is that sin is put away (Heb. 9:2626For then must he often have suffered since the foundation of the world: but now once in the end of the world hath he appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself. (Hebrews 9:26)). So that it is no longer an insuperable barrier against us. The blood which Jesus shed was of such value, that it can cleanse us from every spot of sin, and make us white as snow, and fit to dwell in the city of God.
Thanks be unto God for this unspeakable gift! The road to heaven is opened, not by our own efforts, but by the precious blood of Christ. Reader, since this is so, why be an exile any longer? Why not commit yourself to the Saviour, and trust Him to bring you safe to glory? And, on your way, to others
“Tell how the Lord hath opened,
Opened the blood-stained way
Right from the realms of darkness
Up to eternal day.”
H. P. B.