Eric's Beijing Diary

"and he [Abraham] went out, not knowing whither he went." (Hebrews 11:8)

Riding the rails on the way to Lanzhou. I have, for some time, been interested in the problem of rural education in China. My own involvement with this problem as far as China is concerned began in the Fall of 2001--my first trip to China. I was traveling with a group from Church on Mill in Tempe, Arizona. But my involvement in rural education itself goes back to my days as a country school teacher on the prairies of North Dakota. And when it comes right down to it, it goes back to my childhood because I myself got my early book learning in a one-room school. It wasn't exactly a rural school. I attended a school for missionary children in Akita, Japan for six years. But the concept was essentially the same.

At any rate, I have an interest in the problem, and a belief that maybe I can do something about it. Rural education is not the only problem in the world. It is only one of them. It's not the only problem I am concerned about. But it is a problem that is key to the future development of China, especially in the countryside.

I have never been to Gansu Province, and I am not sure where I am going. But that is not a bad thing. When Abraham went out from his home country, God told him to go "unto a land that I will shew thee." (Genesis 12:1) And "not knowing whither" involves both direction and action. We need God to show us both where to go, and what to do. But God does not always show us ahead of time exactly where we are going to be going, or what we are going to be doing. Sometimes we have a vision, or a clue, and sometimes the impressions become stronger as we follow him. But we must never insist on knowing before we obey. God's order is for us to step out when He calls us, and let Him fill in the details as we obey his command.

Sometimes the less we know, the better, because then we are moved to depend on Him to guide us. But we should never use this principle as an excuse for not doing our homework, and finding out what we need to know from the information God has made available. It sounds like a contradiction, I know, and I guess I would have to admit that it is a bit of a paradox, but the balance, I think, is that we should try to find out as much as we can about the place we are going to, so that we can be prepared, but still leave to God the precise details. Plan, but don't plan to rigidly. Leave your plans a little open ended. That seems to be the gist of what God was saying to Abraham, and it is a lesson we would do well not to forget.