Way better than lottery
I would like to share with you how God worked graciously in my parents lives to lead them to accept Christ. Four years ago, I thought it would take a miracle for my parents to become Christian and that’s what happened. My family was culturally Buddhist and lived by Chinese pragmatism. When I became Christian, my parents thought it was just a phase, and believed Christianity was a kind of emotional support. As long as I kept my grades up, I was ok and at least I learned good values. But when they saw that I wanted to stay up here after graduation instead of home where it was more economical, tensions began to grow. I prayed that God would have mercy on my parents so they could live another day so that they can hear the Gospel, and for the Holy Spirit to soften their hearts and make them hungry. I also prayed a dangerous prayer that God would humble them through life circumstances.
God began to answer these prayers in an unexpected way. In my undergrad before Christ days, I devised schemes conning money from internet companies and was a big player in a multilevel pyramid company. I hurt a lot of people along the way, especially my parents who loved me and tried to stop me. About 2 years ago, my leader talked me to me about my past and asked me if I ever paid it back. I never did. I didn’t want to deal with it. I buried all the guilt and shame and didn’t want to admit I was a criminal. Romans 13:8 said, “Let no debt remain outstanding except the continuing debt to love one another.” The debt was 5 figures and paying it all back would be costly. It also meant putting my dreams of pursuing medicine on hold so I can work a few years and also selling my nice car. What was even more painful was to face all the relational damage I caused to my family and friends. I prayed for conviction and I was rocked by the truth of what I had done. My leader told me that God would honor obedience and who knows, maybe this will be a good witness to my parents and maybe even lead them to be Christian one day. He was right and God turned this shame into multiple blessings. God encouraged me with his words. Hebrews 12:10-11 – “Our parents disciplined us for a little while as they thought best; but God disciplines us for our good, that we may share in his holiness. No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it.” I knew God loved me through this discipline, and I began the process of repentance. It turned out to be a blessing in many ways.
That Thanksgiving, I went home nervous about how my parents would respond. I apologized to my mom for being so rotten and selfish to them in the past and for causing so much pain and worry. I told them that I understood now how much they loved me, even though in the past I had returned it with anger and arrogance. I told them, I need to stay with my church, because my heart is very dark inside and I need the church to teach me God’s ways and guide me. Rather than getting condemnation, my mom broke down crying and she forgave me and said she understands why I want to stay with the church now. I also told her about what the Bible said about what I stole and my plans to pay it all back because I need to honor God. I apologized to my dad too but being the pragmatist he is, he tried to talk me out of paying back my debts saying the company wouldn’t even want it back because the books are closed. But I stood my ground.
God used these situations to show my parents that Christianity is a serious thing and not just a fad or an opiate for the masses as they thought. Through this I got a chance to talk my dad seriously about what sin is and doing what is right. For the first time he didn’t fight back and listened. This led into a gospel presentation and I finally got a chance to have a heart to heart talk with my dad. Like many Chinese immigrant dads, he keeps dreaming of winning the lottery. I told my dad the reason why I keep telling him about Jesus is because he is the best thing in the world. You sacrificed so much for me and I want to give you the best thing I know, who is Jesus Christ. I told him if I found a way to win the lottery every time, I would share it with you because I love you and you’d share it with me too. Jesus is way better than the lottery. Because I love you, I’m going to keep telling you. Praise the Lord, my dad said he would be willing to check it out. I had a Chinese copy of Letters To a Skeptic from Shufei that I was praying for an opportune time and I gave to him then. My parents began to read it and they said they were touched by it since it’s just like our situation, a son sharing with his parents.
It turns out God did a lot to soften their hearts for this moment. Before this happened, my mom suffered hand injuries at work forcing her to stay home, suffered an unusual autoimmune disorder, and as a result, was shaken up emotionally. She realized how fragile her life is. Before my mom would always be busy working, too busy to think about spiritual things. I saw my mom deteriorate physically so fast. Though it pained me to see her like that, I knew God could use this to humble her and make her slow down to think about life. I had prayed that something would happen to humble my mom, and now the time came. Because she was at home, she had time to read the book.
Before I went home again, I heard a timely message. Pastor Ed said that the word of God is alive and never leaves empty handed if it gets a chance to go through someone’s heart. So God gave me the idea to get my mom to read the Bible and let Jesus Christ speak for himself!
So I told her if you like reading about God in Letters To a Skeptic, wait til you read the Bible! I kept telling her about Jesus and how you can get to know him through the things he did in the Bible. I kept telling her about how good and loving he is, and there is no one of better character. To my surprise she went into her room and brought out a dusty Chinese Bible my sister gave her years ago. She said she tried reading it before, but never understood it. I tried to get her to start reading the gospels but I had no idea how to read in Chinese and couldn’t find it. So I called up my trusty Cantonese brother Jackson Lao and he said he’ll drive over and find it for me. When I heard the low rumble of his fixed up muffler approach my house, I knew salvation was coming closer for my mom because the power of the word was going to be released.
Later I asked my mom and she told me she’d been reading the Bible each night. To my surprise, she told me she was going to read the Bible from beginning to the end so she can evaluate it, and if she felt Jesus leading her, she would believe. My jaw dropped and that became my prayer that Jesus would meet her and lead her. Thank you Holy Spirit!
Over the months she was plowing through the Bible making it all the way to Kings before skipping to the NT. She was actually understanding it, so I knew the Holy Spirit had come and enabled her to know. God continued to work miracles in my mom’s life. She’s had a desire to go church after reading the New Testament but didn’t know where to go and she needed a Chinese speaking church. Her injuries and bad health were a blessing in disguise. She had been taking a lot of walks to the park near the city hall in the morning to regain her health. She kept seeing this grandpa there every morning who is retired. He’s always there reading books or the newspaper. He used to work for the city. One day they started to chat. She went again Sunday morning to the park and saw this group of people leaving from the music hall in the town center. She asked the elderly man who they were, and he said that’s a Chinese church group. He knew because he had worked for the city and knows all about the groups that use the buildings. My mom was overjoyed and said she was looking for a Chinese church. She said, “How can they be a church, the building says it’s a music center?” He says, “Yeah, they are music center Monday to Friday, but on Sunday the church rents it and meets there.” So next Sunday she eagerly went without knowing what time they start. She figured they started in the morning so she drove there and got there right when they started. They warmly welcomed her and she really enjoyed the service. They asked her to introduce herself and she told how she had a son who is a follower of Jesus and that she’s been reading the Bible and wanted to know more. She told them her story about how she found the church and someone said Jesus led you here by hand! That wording was so weird because my mom always said to me, “I’ll believe when I feel like Jesus is holding my hand.” That is so uncanny! They had small group after and they tried to explain the gospel to my mom. My mom asked what it means to Christian. They also wanted to teach her to pray but time ran out.
I taught my mom over the phone how to pray, which is another miracle. I wanted her to read Matthew 6 and 7. We had a huge language barrier because I didn’t know how to say Matthew in Cantonese. She also didn’t know how to use the numbering system. I asked her if there anything that sounds like Matthew in the Bible. She said Mo-sai. Having no clue, I said yeah yeah go there. Then I asked her to tell what does that book talk about and she starts talking about the parting of the red sea and walking through deserts. Then I realized she was reading about Moses. I was totally stumped at what to do. I felt like I was playing Taboo because I couldn’t say the words I wanted her to find. So I told her to go the table of contents. In my broken Chinese, I said there should be an old part and new part. While she was looking I kept praying and pleading with God silently for the Holy Spirit to guide her to it. I said what’s the first thing under the new part? She finally got Matthew and it took another 20 minutes to explain the verse numbering system. So eventually I was able to explain how to pray from Matthew 6. I told her to read Matthew 7, about ask seek knock. I told her when you earnestly seek God, God promised that you will find Him. So you can pray with confidence that you can know Jesus personally and understand if you ask him to show himself. This was so exciting. She understood the passage.
More encouraging things happened such as them asking me to pray for the meal. It was an emotional moment for me because for the first time the Lord Jesus was openly praised and thanked in my household. I prayed for my parents that they would know him personally one day as their Lord. I also took them to the Getty Museum and my mom was excitedly identifying the paintings with all biblical stories she read about in the Bible, like Joseph and his brothers.
I’ll never forget how I found out they accept Christ. When I called them, I asked how their seeking was going, and they were saying that prayed every day. Thinking they are probably praying for Asian things like wealth and health, I told them that they should pray to know Jesus in their minds and their hearts. Then my mom said I already have him in my heart. I said in a loving way, “No you don’t…you have to ask him to come into your heart for that to happen and you didn’t do that yet.” Then she said, “Yeah, I did. Your dad and I did. How is it then that every time I have a question, I pick up a book and he answers it right away? Why is it that I feel he is answering me personally?” Then she explained how she had been reading the books and finally understand what Jesus did on the cross and prayed the sinners prayer. I was still incredulous so I proceeded to quiz her about what the cross means, etc. She was able to answer all my questions articulately, and I was speechless after each time. My mom kept saying, “Hello are you there?”
Then my mom said she finally understands what I do at church and why I spend so much time with students and not my own things. She said you’re God’s servant. She said she use to think I was being stupid by spending so much time at church and people and spending all my money on gas money giving rides to students. She also said she prayed that she thanked God for giving her two children, and now that they are all grown up, she doesn’t have the wisdom and power to lead us now, but she said that my sister and I belong to God, and she asked God to raise us up and guide us now.
I am trying to contain my joy because this is a huge step in the right direction. I’m also thankful that God let me see their journey through the years. I’m thankful that William approached me a few years ago about all the things I stole in my past and made me confront what I did. I think my apology to my parents after and repaying back the money I took made me them finally see I was serious about Christianity. That was definitely a turning point for them.
I am also so thankful for our church, who led me to this good news and discipled me. All your sacrifice has been a blessing in my life and now to my family. I also experienced the body of Christ come together to lead my parents to the Lord. Special thanks to Shufei and Jackson for their help. Shufei’s testimony about his parents really encouraged me to have faith. God taught me so much about his character through this. I am so thankful to God, who in all his infinite power, holiness, and sovereignty, would come down and chose to use it all to so compassionately meet and save sinners like me and my family. This is the loving God that we have as our Father. Yes he is there, yes we matter to him so dearly and he is mighty to save us. Jesus demonstrated this truth so perfectly on the cross. Praise be to him forever and ever.