Thoughts on Weight Loss and the Heavenly Man

The Heavenly Man is a biography of “Brother Yun,” a Chinese house church pastor. For the sake of the gospel, Yun suffered terrible persecution, including torture and several prison terms. At times the book is gruesome to read, and yet it is a wonderful, life-changing story.

I would like to share two excerpts from the Heavenly Man, which I believe are relevant to the struggle of many Americans to lose weight.

In 1984, during his first imprisonment, God called Yun to fast and pray for the advance of the gospel in China. In his words, “Immediately the sense of hunger attacked me. More and more temptation came. I was so hungry I could hardly stand it.”

That night, the prisoners were allowed a special meal for the upcoming Lunar New Year: pork soup, a stick of celery, and one mantou (steamed bread roll). “To the starving prisoners this was truly a lavish feast. The smell of the food floated down the hallways before we saw it. When it arrived the prisoners gobbled it up like ravenous wolves and literally licked their bowls clean.”

Yun describes how the devil tempted him to eat, rationalizing that Yun’s body was battered and starving. However, Yun remembered the command of Scripture to submit to God and resist the devil (James 5:7). Yun gave his food back to the warden and asked him to share his portion with the other men in the cell.

According to Yun, “Food was the god of the criminals in that prison.” Because he had given up his portion of food, the prisoners began to think well of him and ask him why he was so different. This gave Yun the opportunity to share Jesus with the other prisoners. (Heavenly Man pp. 97-98)

Another time, while Yun was still in prison, the director placed a psychotic murderer named Huang in Yun’s cell. Huang was continually trying to kill himself and harm others. Yun called his cell-mates to treat Huang with kindness, washing his wounds and sharing their food. They had to spoon-feed Huang because his hands were manacled behind his back.

At dinner the prisoners were scheduled to receive their one weekly mantou. According to Yun, “When I took the first bite of my mantou I felt like crying. A tender voice welled up inside me, saying, ‘I died for you on the cross. How can you show me that you love me? When I am hungry, thirsty, and in prison, if you do these things to the least of my brethren, you do them unto me.’”

Yun felt that God was calling him to give the rest of his mantou to Huang. Yun cried out in hunger, and was rewarded with a reminder from Scripture: Nothing can separate us from the love of Christ (Romans 8:35). The next morning, when Yun gave his leftover mantou to Huang, “Huang’s stony heart broke.” Huang trusted Jesus and was released from his burden of sin. (Heavenly Man pp. 144-145).

When I read these two passages, I asked myself: Would I have given up the Lunar New Year "feast"? Would I have given up the rest of the mantou? To be honest, I had to confess that this was beyond my ability. It is difficult for me to turn down food, even when I am full!

These thoughts led to others, until I began to question whether we, as Americans, are approaching weight loss from the wrong perspective. I hope to share some of these thoughts in my next post.