Carrie Tedder comments on 'red China'

The phrase red China has taken on a completely different meaning for me and my family since relocating to the capital city of Beijing. Those words, once full of 1960's cold war rhetoric, have expanded to include a broader description of the world's fastest growing economy. Red China is literally much redder than I previously imagined because red represents the predominant hue I see in the Chinese culture. From the wooden window frames of the summer palace to blushing spring brides in wedding gowns of red - hongze is everywhere. The streets of the city are turning red in anticipation of Chinese New Year. With only a few weeks to go, paper lanterns sway back and forth in the winter wind welcoming customers into street front shops. And apartment windows all over the city announce xin nian kuai le in giant red letters for all to see.

I met a Chinese friend for coffee last week. It was just after her birthday and she was excited to tell me about her recent celebration. For her birthday lunch she ate "long noodles in hopes of a long life." She also received presents from her family and friends and "because it is also my birth year, the year of the rat, I received presents in red." She continued. "I wear a red belt. It symbolizes the luck that I hope will surround me this year." In all her modernity my friend assured me that she didn't really "believe in that stuff" but never the less it permeated her life and family.

This Chinese fascination with red is a cultural force to be reckoned with. I wonder if God in his creativity didn't in fact put that bent towards crimson in the Chinese soul. From the Old Testament with its blood soaked sacrifices to new covenant established with Christ's death on the cross, the color red is the one common thread that weaves our faith lives together. China's favorite color is even seen at the end of the age when it adorns the victorious Christ. John's descriptions in Revelation says our Savior is, "dressed in a robe dipped in blood, and his name is the Word of God."

Could it be that God has set the perfect stage telling His story in China? My prayer for my Chinese friend is the same prayer that I pray for all of China. It is a prayer of revelation. The next time you watch the evening news and catch a glimpse of the Chinese flag with its cornered yellow stars awash in red, would you send up a prayer for China too? For red is indeed the redeeming colour of the Gospel isn't it?