The Sound of the Clapper

“Son of man, I have made thee a watchman unto the house of Israel: therefore hear the word at my mouth, and give them warning from me.” — Ezekiel 3:17 (ASV)

Watchman Nee was not born with that name. He was born Ni Shuzu on 4 November 1903, in Shantou, in the southern Chinese province of Guangdong. His family's roots were in Fuzhou, in Fujian province. (Some older sources give a different year, and his gravestone has added to the confusion, but modern scholars generally use 1903.)

Years later, after he became a Christian, he took a new Chinese name, Ni Tuosheng. It called to mind the sound of a night watchman's clapper, the signal that woke people who were asleep. His English name, Watchman, carried the same picture into another language. A watchman doesn't make the sun come up. He stays awake while others sleep, watches for danger, and calls people to get ready. That is what Nee wanted his life to be.

He was born into a China in upheaval. The Qing dynasty, which had ruled for centuries, was close to collapse; in 1911 and 1912 a revolution overthrew it and set up a republic. For decades Western powers had forced their way into Chinese ports and politics through wars and unequal treaties. Missionaries had come too, building schools, hospitals and churches. Many of them served sacrificially, learned Chinese, and loved their neighbours. But because Christianity had arrived along roads opened by Western power, many Chinese people saw it as a foreign religion.

Nee's family belonged to the small Chinese Protestant community. His grandfather had served as a Christian minister, which made Nee a third-generation Christian, unusual in China at the time. His parents took part in church life. He went to mission schools, including Anglican schools in Fuzhou, and learned excellent English. Everyone who wrote about him noticed how bright he was: he read widely, learned fast, and had a remarkable memory. Before his conversion he was interested in political writing, and he had big plans for his future.

But here is the surprising part. He did not care much about the faith he had inherited. He knew the vocabulary. He knew the habits. He sat in Christian classrooms. None of that made him a disciple. Later this became one of the deepest lessons of his life: you cannot get faith secondhand. John's Gospel says God's children are born “not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.” A Christian grandfather can give you stories, prayers and an example. He cannot give you new birth.

John the Baptist warned religious people not to say “We have Abraham to our father,” as if having the right ancestors could replace turning to God. The same danger exists in Christian homes. A child can learn hymns before worshipping, doctrine before believing, and church manners before loving Christ. None of those gifts is bad. They are privileges. But a privilege is not the same thing as knowing God.

Maybe you grew up in church, or maybe you didn't. Either way, the question Nee had to face is yours too. Is your faith, or your doubt, actually yours, or is it just something you picked up from the people around you? There is nothing wrong with receiving faith from your family. Many people first meet Christ that way. But at some point what was borrowed has to become personal.

And notice the name he chose. Nee didn't call himself something grand. A watchman is ordinary, and easily forgotten. His job is simply to stay awake and to tell the truth when it matters. You don't need a platform to do that.

One thing to do this week: write down three things you believe about God. Next to each one, write where you got it: a parent, a church, a friend, the Bible, your own experience. Then pick one and ask yourself honestly, “Have I ever made this my own?” If the answer is no, talk to God about it, plainly, in your own words.