Gao Zhisheng

Attention needs to be drawn to something. There are cases like this all over the world, and I dare not say this one is more important than any other, but this one seems especially imperative for this world in this time. For one thing, the person in this case has undergone unimaginable, absolutely unimaginable, torture for quite some time. For another reason, he is a high-profile case with lots of attention already, and drawing more attention to his plight will hopefully bring awareness to the plight of millions more.

The man is Gao Zhisheng. He is a human rights lawyer from China. He was once an ardent communist, but since surrendering his life to Jesus he has taken up the cause of defending the persecuted, Christians and others, in his native China. The communist Chinese government hates this. But through a series of events he has shone light on their oppression on an international scale and is now a high-priority target of their enmity. To read of these events and to get an idea for the unimaginable torture go to www.freegao.com (please watch the five-minute video).

One year ago, February 4, 2009, Gao was abducted and his whereabouts have since been a mystery. There were rumors that he had perished. Needless to say, his family is devastated in ways I can't begin to grasp. His daughter is even under medical watch in a New York hospital. They desperately need help. Despite the devastating rumors, ChinaAid recently released this statement:

"ChinaAid believes that based on the minister's comments and other inside
reports, Gao Zhisheng is still alive, but suffering incredible torture. We will
not give up on Gao until he is guaranteed his basic human rights with dignity
before the law."

There is still hope! And there is a lot that normal people can do. Please, go to www.freegao.com and learn of the ways to get involved. Involvement does not require much of anything. It could just be signing the petition to be sent to Chinese authorities, calling your U.S. Representative or whatever you choose to do. You can even call the Chinese Embassy. Most of all Gao simply needs prayer.

"Remember the prisoners, as though you were in prison with them, and the
mistreated, as though you yourselves were suffering bodily." - Hebrews 13:3

For some reason, and I just can't explain it, but, there is something powerful when the Body of Christ acts as one body and has compassion on its suffering members.