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Difference between Anabaptists and Evangelicals Mysteries of the Kingdom of God Anabaptist Sermons by Eli Hofer The Writings of Ulrich Stadler |
From Buddhist to Anabaptist The First Step It is truly amazing how the Lord God has brought me to the Anabaptist faith. I was born and raised in Japan in a Christian family that in former times were staunch Buddhists. In 1868, the old way of Japan, being governed by the Shogun and the Samurai, was no more. The new era has begun and instead of the Shogun, Emperor Meiji became the head. Prior to that time the people in Japan were divided into four classes: Samurai, farmers, craftsmen and merchants. In addition there were two groups of people who were considered to be outside of this classification: the royal family was too high to be included and the other, the Eta, was too low to be considered as part of the people of Japan. In 1873, many changes occurred in Japan. The ban against Christianity was lifted after many years. And, a few years earlier, instead of the traditional clothes, some of the people were beginning to wear western style clothes. In the midst of these changes, my grandfather, Koyama Yoshitaka (pronounced Yo-she-ta-ka) was born in 1875 into an old Samurai family who were devoted Nichiren (a Buddhist sect). His father, who was Samurai, had no choice but abandon his old position. He could not adjust to the changes and escaped to drinking. It was told that he drank all he had and more. It was not an easy time to grow, what was more, Yoshitaka had to take care of his siblings, his parents as well, since his father seemed to no longer care. That made him think. What is the meaning of life? Why do people exist? Yoshitaka often went on errands to the house of his mother"s grandparents, which was about five miles away. There was no bus at the time, he had to walk, or ride a bike. (A record says he was the first one in the village who got a bicycle. Those made in Japan were still not good, so he bought one made in Germany.) On the way, he saw a sign on a building, "Everyone is Welcome. Please Come in." There was a cross. He looked at it with interest as he was told it was a new religion, called Christianity. His hunger was not satisfied with the Nichiren religion of his family. His soul was searching for the truth with ever increasing hunger. One day he decided to knock on the door of that new church. At first he was concerned about what his parents would say, but his desire became stronger than his concern. He visited the church every chance he had. In 1905, after many hours spent with the pastor, Koyama Yoshitaka committed his life to Christ and was baptized. He was 30 years old. To become Christian is a lifetime commitment for everybody. To become Christian in Japan then was a serious thing that we cannot understand easily. To understand what this means about community relationship, let us picture a small town in the United States. Every family is a Christian family. Everyone knows everyone else in that town, and they have been depending on each other for generations. If someone is sick, naturally, you go and help the family. If someone needs prayer, you will pray with him. You help each other in your daily living, including weddings and funerals. Now, a young man in the community decided that following Jesus is not for him and he becomes a Buddhist, burnt all his Bibles and books about Jesus. What reaction would be from his family and community? Naturally, they would try to talk him out. If he did not listen, they may kick him out and have nothing to do with him. "If anyone comes to Me, and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be My disciple." Luke 14:27 This verse became quite real to Yoshitaka. He went to the Nichiren temple and reported that he changed his religion. He gave up everything for Jesus. He burnt the family shrine that was in the house for generations and all the books and ornaments that were of the Buddha. Not only to his own family and community, Yoshitaka did cause lots of disturbance to his relatives, also. Japanese society is different from here in the United States. For instance, here when you get married, you marry a person and not a family. In Japan, specially then, marriage was between the families. When a young man becomes of marriageable age, his relatives will choose a suitable young woman for him. She will be from a family matching him in social status. They check not only the young woman and her family, but also her relative's social status and background, who died of what and so on. So they banned Yoshitaka from the community. The stores would not sell anything to him. He was blessed by having his own water well in his court yard, but somebody else who became a Christian shortly after him did not have his own water well. His family was getting water from the community well. They were forced to get the water during the night when nobody was around. Yoshitaka knew all these things would happen. He counted the cost. He found a precious pearl and sold everything, even his own comfort and he chose Jesus. Through him, God blessed many. He opened the Way to the kingdom. His father, the old Samurai Koyama Bunpachiro, passed away on November 7, 1906. He accepted Jesus before he died, through his son's testimony. Yoshitaka prayed long time for his mother's salvation. One summer, at a convention, he fasted and prayed earnestly for three days for her salvation. During that time, she was not feeling well and resting alone in her upstairs room at home. There, in the middle of the day, she saw a vision of Christ. Jesus answered her son Yoshitaka's prayer and fasting. His mother repented of her sins with tears, and received the forgiveness of sins. At once, the pain that she was having went away. From that time on, she helped the home meetings and invited the neighbors to the meetings. She lived the wonderful born-again life in her late years. In 1919, his mother, his wife, and his older daughter were baptized. "Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you shall be saved, you and your household." This word of God became true to his house. As Yoshitaka went deeper into the walk of faith, he said, "Jesus started his ministry at the age of 30. I will be glad to join him in the ministry ten years behind, at the age of 40." He opened the house for Sunday School and home meetings. People with troubled hearts, tired and sick came to the light of Jesus, and he received them with love into his home. Every morning for about an hour, together with any house guests, he read the Word of God, prayed and then went out to work. His wife was always helping him in the background, taking care of guests, treating them as if they were her own brothers and her own children. The later years of Yoshitaka's life were full of trials and required great perseverance. But even though the fight was tough, it seemed that he was waiting for the day that his work was over in this world. He was looking forward to the life he would live in heaven. On July 26, 1946, he completed his faith life and was called to heaven. He was 71 years old. |