Teaching Others to Bear the Cross

One of the great lessons Miss Barber sought to instill in her co-workers was to bear the cross. Watchman Nee frequently recounts his struggles with a co-worker five years his senior, and how Sister Barber rebuked him for not submitting to the older brother. Later, however, he considered this one of the greatest lessons he ever received

“At that time our group comprised of seven workers. We had a meeting every Friday but much of the time was spent in argument between myself and the other leader of the group. Being youthful, we were proud of our own ideas and quick to criticize the opinions of the other. At times I lost my temper and found it very hard to admit that I was wrong. every Saturday I visited Sister Barber and complained about his attitude, asking her to intervene and correct his errors. She rebuked me because he was five years older than I, saying, “The Scripture says that the younger should obey the elder.” 1 This went on for three years. Every Sunday I fasted. God was teaching me the lesson of submission. Today I can work together with others because I have learned this lesson. 2

Footnotes

1 - Weigh, K. H., ed. Watchman Nee’s Testinony. Anaheim: Living Stream Ministry, 1981.

2 - Nee, Watchman. The Collected Works of Watchman Nee Vol. 57:63

Notes mentioning this note

Leland Wang
John Sung, Leland Wang and Watchman Nee in Shanghai, 1934 ^[John Sung, Leland Wang and Watchman Nee, Shanghai 1934 -...
Letters - 1901.10.5 on Furlough to Mr. Baring-Gould from Norwich
Letter 59 St. Martins Lane Norwich Oct. 5, 1901 Dear Mr. Baring-Gould, Thank you very much for the letter and...
Watchman Nee

Index of Pages