Too Close for Comfort
Kinmen Island is only about 3km off the shores of China. It is so close that one might think it was part of the Mainland, but it is, in fact, an island of Taiwan. For people like Aidan Ellis-Patterson, an Australian English teacher working on the island, the possibility of a take-over from the Chinese government is a daily reality, and even more so in these days of threats of coming from Beijing. According to Aiden, it would not take much effort for the Chinese Communist Party to take the island. The Nationalists fled Mainland China to claim Taiwan along with Kinmen Island in 1949, and the Chinese Communist Party has never recognized Taiwan as an independent country.
The Peace that Passeth Understanding
The 140,000 residents who live on the island can never completely feel at ease under such conditions, at least not if their peace and safety comes from worldly circumstances. What the Taiwanese people need is not a better political situation, but they need the peace which passeth all understanding that is found in Christ. It is a peace that transcends all earthly circumstances and gives them the hope of heaven. Who will go and tell them about the One who can give them that peace?
