Earlier, about a month after my arrest, the Lord had impressed this Scripture on my heart, "I tell you the truth, unless a grain of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds. The man who loves his life will lose it, while the man who hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life." John 12:24-25.
As I meditated on these verses, I started to think about my time on the farm in Henan, and how it took about seven months for a seed of wheat to appear above the soil after being planted in the ground. I felt the Lord was showing me that I would need to be "in the ground" (prison) for seven months before he would release me.
Jesus taught me many lessons when I was a seed buried in the prison. I have found the Christian life is not glamorous to the flesh. When a little seed is put into the ground it is not comfortable. It lies in the dark isolation of rough soil for months, suffers in the frozen ground of winter and the heat of summer, and is even covered with stinking manure and fertiliser. Only after it has silently endured all these trials is the seed ready to spring to life and produce a harvest that will feed many.
When a seed is buried in the ground it has no choice but to wait patiently for God's time for it to spring to life. In the same way I knew it was completely futile to trust in human efforts to get me out of prison. Instead of trusting in human rights organisations to apply political pressure, I knew my future was completely in the hands of God only, and I would get out only when his time had come.
One day the prison warden came to me and said, "A representative from the German embassy is here to see you. Get dressed and go down to the gate."
As I walked towards the gate where visitors waited to see prisoners, the lady from the embassy saw me and shouted, "Today I have good news for you! You are being released! The moment you sign this release form you're a free man. You'll need to be a little patient and wait inside the hospital for a few days while arrangements are made to take you to the airport, but from now on you are a free man!"
I signed the form and returned to the hospital, bubbling with joy. As soon as I reached my room I took off my prison uniform and threw it on the floor. The guard didn't know about my release and angrily threatened to punish me. I laughed and informed him, "I'm no longer your criminal! I'm free to go!"
I feel so sorry that many Christians live in bondage even though Jesus has signed their release form with his own blood. When you've been set free, you should act like it!
- Brother Yun, The Heavenly Man
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