The Glorious Gospel of the Son of God
by Victor Guo
The preference for sons over daughters has led to immeasurable suffering for women in China. However, it has also led to great burdens for men, who carry the hopes and expectations of the entire family. The gospel frees us from these burdens, pointing to the true Son who fulfills all of our hopes.
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Returning to the importance that Chinese culture attaches to sons, we see the burden that the sons of each family bears. People are “raising sons to support them in old age” in order to ensure an easy and comfortable life in their later years. They look forward to their sons “bringing glory to their ancestors” so that they might be envied by others. These expectations overwhelm sons because they cannot bear the weight of this so-called “glory.”
The Hebrew for “glory” (kabad) basically means “weight.” For example, consider 1 Samuel 4:18: “As soon as he mentioned the ark of God, Eli fell over backward from his seat by the side of the gate, and his neck was broken and he died, for the man was old and heavy (kabad).” When we say that something has glory, we mean that it is important and valuable. When the Bible speaks of God’s glory, it means that he is very important. He has transcendent value and is worthy of worship. When the Bible says that God deserves all glory, it does not mean that God lacks glory and needs man to add glory to him. Rather, it means that all the goodness and beauty and blessings of man reflect the glory of God, just as the moon reflects the light of the sun. Because man lacks glory due to his sin and depravity, he often seeks to add glory to himself through wealth, knowledge, and sons.
But the glory that our families give to their sons, the weight and value they assign to them, is not realistic. Anyone who relies on his son can only satisfy his momentary needs. He cannot rely on his son to solve the most fundamental problems with his soul. If man wants to solve the abiding problems with his soul and find true value and glory, then only Jesus Christ can provide the solution.
Those sons in whom so many place their hope bear the responsibility of fulfilling a messianic mission and yet they live every day in sin and sorrow. They cannot be a messiah for others, and they cannot provide for them salvation and glory. They and their families who place so much hope in them need a true Messiah—Jesus Christ. He alone can give us life. He alone can give us value. All men who “labor and are heavy laden” who are trying to be messiahs for their families, all who have placed hope in their sons and have been disappointed, all who are relying on their sons to obtain temporary glory—all of you can come to Christ and find rest. For the Bible tells us that the only one who can truly bring us hope and salvation, the only true Messiah, is Jesus Christ and no other.
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Victor Guo is the pastor of a reformed house church.
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Category: Devotional
Date created: 2020
Key terms: Chinese culture, gender, idolatry
