The Roof of the World – it sounds so dramatic, adventurous and cold. If you mention Tibet or Tibetan people, many people think of Mount Everest, the Dalai Lama or the Brad Pitt movie. Maybe the first mention a westerner might hear is a Hollywood star shouting, “Free Tibet.”
“Free Tibet” is a slogan I appreciate, but maybe not the way the Hollywood star might mean it. I will not talk about the politics of Tibet, but of the slavery of a people bound to a multitude of demons, gods, religious leaders and a religious system that has resisted the freedom of the gospel of Jesus Christ since the first Nestorian priests reached Tibet around 1200. Since that time there have been some Catholic and Protestant Missionaries in Tibet with limited results.
It is estimated that 0.02% of Tibetans worldwide are Christian. This calculates to around 1,300 Christians worldwide of the 6.4 million Tibetans. To most Tibetans, to be a Tibetan is to be Buddhist. Not a Buddhism like you might see in Thailand or in the West, but a Buddhism mixed with the religion of Tibetans before Buddhism arrived.
How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them? – Romans 10:14
Will we, as Christians, pray, give and go to bring Tibetans to real freedom? Maybe we think it is hopeless. Maybe we think it is a waste of money. Maybe we should obey the Lord’s command and go. Maybe we should follow the Holy Spirit’s leading and send.
Tibetans are moving all over the world and are easier to reach than ever before. They can be found in America, Switzerland, India, Nepal and throughout many Chinese cities. We can reach them if we listen to the still small voice, and go and seek them out. Just like the Shepherd seeks out the lost sheep.
Free Tibet. Free Tibetans. Free them from trying to keep the peace among all the deities around them. Free them from the need to chant, finger beads, light incense and go on pilgrimages to holy places all to gain merit in the next life. Give them real freedom in Christ.
It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery. – Galatians 5:1
Hudson Taylor once said, “To make converts in Tibet is similar to going into a cave and trying to rob a lioness of her cubs.” But we know a God who once calmed a den full of lions and He can do the same in Tibet and among Tibetan people. Will you join us in the lions den?
What can you do?
- Pray for Tibet and Tibetan people to know the freedom found in Christ
- Join the Monthly Prayer and Financial Support Team
- Find Tibetans near you and invite them to your house (most have never met a Christian before)
