{"id":9313,"date":"2026-04-20T08:16:51","date_gmt":"2026-04-20T16:16:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/randyalcorn\/?p=9313"},"modified":"2026-03-30T15:19:06","modified_gmt":"2026-03-30T23:19:06","slug":"the-chair-of-honor","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/randyalcorn\/2026\/04\/the-chair-of-honor\/","title":{"rendered":"The Chair of Honor"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

\"\"<\/p>\n

While my novel Safely Home<\/a><\/em> shows some suffering in China, it\u2019s ultimately an encouraging book, full of hope and anticipation. I want readers to see events on Earth with an eternal perspective. I pray they\u2019ll come away with a greater love for their brothers and sisters overseas, and with a deeper sense of anticipation for Heaven.<\/p>\n

This is one of many responses to the book that our ministry has received over the years:<\/p>\n

One day a young philosophy student from the University of Nairobi came into the shop and asked for a book that was a good read, and not the usual religious stuff. He wanted something stimulating. After asking a few questions, the young Kenyan who was tending the shop suggested\u00a0Safely Home<\/em>, guaranteeing that he would be captivated, challenged, and have lots to think about. So the student bought the book, came back within 2 weeks saying he had gone to church the following Sunday after reading that book, and had met Jesus Christ personally. He was thrilled and wanted another book. He had passed\u00a0Safely Home<\/em>\u00a0on to his parents and siblings. Within a month or two he returned to say that his whole family had come to Christ and were growing, having involved themselves in an alive evangelical church.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Here are a few excerpts from my novel Safely Home<\/em>, starting with American Ben Fielding visiting the home of his old friend Li Quan in China and encountering a chair that, to his surprise, is never sat in:<\/p>\n

\u201cPlease sit down,\u201d Quan said, stretching out his hand. There were five chairs, two partially broken, which were quickly taken by Quan and Ming. Shen took another. This left two chairs\u2014one mahogany, large and beauti\u00adfully handcrafted, with embroidered velvety cushions on the seat, back, and arms. It had an almost regal look, entirely out of place in this modest home. Assuming it was the chair of honor intended for the guest, Ben started to sit in it. Quan quickly stood and pointed to the other chair, the second-best one of the lot.<\/p>\n

\u201cPlease sit here, my friend.\u201d Ben sat next to Quan, directly across the table from the unoccupied fifth chair.<\/p>\n

Who else is coming?<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cThis is xigua, <\/em>correct?\u201d Ben asked.<\/p>\n

\u201cWatermelon. Yes!\u201d Quan smiled broadly. \u201cJoin hands, please.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ben swallowed hard and felt Quan\u2019s and Shen\u2019s hands touch his. He held them lightly but felt them both squeeze.<\/p>\n

\u201cThank you, Zhu Yesu,\u201d Quan said fervently, \u201cthat you have brought to us my friend Ben Fielding. We pray he will enjoy this visit with us. And that you would bless his wife, Pam, and their children and comfort them in his absence. Amen.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ming prayed, then Shen, both in Chinese. Ben fidgeted but kept quiet. He didn\u2019t understand some of this unique spiritual vocabulary.<\/p>\n

\n

\u201cTell me about your father\u2019s imprisonment,\u201d Ben said. \u201cI mean, if you feel up to it.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI am honored you would ask,\u201d Quan said. \u201cMy father first went to jail in the early days of People\u2019s Republic. He was imprisoned again in the sixties during the cultural revolution. I was eight when Li Tong went to jail for the last time. I was permitted to visit him a few times a year, though they would not let me touch him. But by the time I was twelve my heart had turned away from him. I was a proud little Communist, and I refused to visit my shameful father anymore.\u201d Quan winced at the memory. \u201cThen when I was fifteen, my mother forced me to visit him in prison.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat was it like?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThe man I saw did not look like my father. His face was like a pale, twisted mask. But I could recognize his eyes. The last thing he said to me that day was \u2018Zhen jin bu ba huo lian.\u2019\u2019\u2019<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cReal gold fears no fire,\u201d Ben said.<\/p>\n

Quan nodded. \u201cAnd he added, \u2018One day you will die. You must spend your life preparing for that day.\u2019 I have often asked myself, \u2018Is this the day?\u2019 \u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat did your mother do after he died?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cShe had already taken over my father\u2019s job. They called her \u2018the smiling pastor.\u2019 She was a good preacher. She preached at me many times! I regret I did not listen. Not even the night I came home and she\u2019d been beaten. They knocked out two of her teeth.\u201d Quan trembled. \u201cEven in her pain she managed to smile, but it hurt me to see the missing teeth.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWho beat her?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cPSB.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cBecause she was a Christian. Even worse, a pastor. God\u2019s enemies need no more reason.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHow old were you when she died?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cEighteen. I was off with my friends when the earthquake happened. When I ran through the rubble to my house, I saw smoke rising. It had collapsed and was burning. In it I found my mother\u2019s body. She had done every thing for me. No son had a mother so kind, so filled with the joy of Yesu. But I did not appreciate her as I should have. Yes, I wept for her, but more for myself, because I had no home.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhere did you go?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cTo my mother\u2019s parents. They were Christians. They did not know what to do with all my arguments against Christianity, which I got from school. I was even angry I wasn\u2019t allowed to sit in our beautiful chair, made by my grandfather. When we had company, I sat on the hard floor many times while that chair sat empty.\u201d He pointed to the large mahogany chair at the table. \u201cI saw no point in having a beautiful chair no one was allowed to sit in.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat was <\/em>the point?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cDo you not know?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m not sure.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThen it is best for you to learn for yourself.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n

\u201cWhat is your important question, Ben?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou have to tell me about that chair!\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat chair?\u201d Li Quan asked, unable to keep the corners of his mouth from twitching.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou know what chair. The mahogany chair, the empty one, with the high back. Ming and Shen say you have to tell me. I can\u2019t get a word out of them.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cLi Wen built the chair. He was a master craftsman, known throughout the province. It took him more than a year. He built it first in honor of his father, Li Manchu. But then it became for him the chair of Yesu. When others claimed to rule the world, it reminded him who was the true King.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s why it\u2019s almost like a throne?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cA very modest throne. But yes. There is only one who is worthy to sit in it. That same one is always present in the house of Li. My father learned that as a child. I should have, too, but I was very slow to learn. Shen understands already.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s had a good teacher.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNot good enough, I fear, though Ming has made up for my shortcomings. The chair is a remembrance of the Li family line of believers, going back to Li Manchu. But most important, this chair is a remembrance of Yesu\u2019s promise to always be with his children. At every meal we have, we remember he is with us. When we sit in the evening, when we go to sleep at night, we remember he is there, watching over us. No matter what.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHas no one ever sat in the chair?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cMy father said his father, Li Wen, taught that Yesu was truly in the chair, that though he was everywhere and the chair was but a symbol, it was a very important symbol. As Li Wen did not let anyone sit in it, neither would Li Tong. He said if we sat in the chair we would forget its meaning. Whenever we had too many guests, the chair sat vacant while my father or I sat on the floor. I resented him for expecting me to sit on the ground rather than on a good chair. I was a young fool.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cBetter a young fool than an old fool,\u201d Ben said.<\/p>\n

\u201cYes.\u201d Quan smiled. \u201cThis would make a good Chinese proverb. There is hope for Ben Fielding. Tell me, old friend\u2014how was Christmas?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI got oranges for Ming and Shen. And bananas and grapes.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cBen Fielding is a worker of miracles,\u201d Quan said. Tears formed quickly and dripped freely down his cheeks. \u201cThey must have been very happy.\u201d He looked skyward. \u201cThank you for this kindness, Yesu.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ben pushed his hand harder into the wire fence and wrapped his fingers around Quan\u2019s. Just then the guard came and herded him away to the black hole. Li Quan walked back to his desolate cell, singing. Ben Fielding, realizing he had never thanked God for a piece of fruit, walked back to his beautiful vehicle, despairing.<\/p>\n

\n

Quan\u2019s house was nearly empty. Ming and Shen were gone, setting up new living quarters in their half of Zhou Jin\u2019s tiny place. Ben sat on his bed, the only one of the three still there. He was about to make the final drop-off to Zhou Jin\u2019s. Only the bed, the mahogany chair, and a few odds and ends remained.<\/p>\n

A cockroach skittered across his bed.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou didn\u2019t get the eviction notice, huh, buddy? Well, I guess you\u2019ll be getting some new roommates. I\u2019ll miss you.\u201d<\/p>\n

I\u2019m talking to a cockroach. It could be worse. At least I haven\u2019t named him.<\/em><\/p>\n

The draft was worse without furniture and bodies. Despite his jacket and the blanket covering his feet, Ben trembled.<\/p>\n

After a few minutes he got up, crossed the room, and knelt in front of the empty chair. He wept. He opened his Bible in front of him and reread a line from First Peter he\u2019d underlined, one that Ming had showed him that morning. \u201c\u2018Give all your worries and cares to God, for he cares about what happens to you.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

Having done everything he could think of and still not getting the desired results, Ben laid his head on the soft untouched material of the chair. He felt comforted.<\/p>\n

Well, I guess if I\u2019m not in control, the next best thing is knowing you are. Come to think of it, that\u2019s a whole lot better, isn\u2019t it?<\/em><\/p>\n

He laughed. Then he spoke some more to the Owner of the chair.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

While my novel Safely Home shows some suffering in China, it\u2019s ultimately an encouraging book, full of hope and anticipation. I want readers to see events on Earth with an eternal perspective. I pray they\u2019ll come away with a greater love for their brothers and sisters overseas, and with a deeper sense of anticipation for […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2661,"featured_media":9316,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[169],"tags":[486,164,84,5397,171,170],"class_list":["post-9313","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-persecuted-church","tag-china","tag-christians","tag-church","tag-persecuted","tag-persecution","tag-safely-home"],"yoast_head":"\nThe Chair of Honor<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Having done everything he could think of and still not getting the desired results, Ben laid his head on the soft untouched material of the chair.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" 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