Why do I believe in Jesus Christ?
Posted: Mon Nov 19, 2018 4:04 pm
For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. – John 3:16
I once thought I was a Buddhist. I burnt incense and worshipped the Buddha. Therefore, I was a Buddhist, like most Chinese people. But now I realized that it was not real faith. I only asked for Buddha and gods' help when I encountered difficulties and had some needs. Apart from these, Buddha had nothing to do with me. But, real faith should not be this way! A man of faith should have some sort of spiritual dependence, along with a ruler to measure up his action. We are bound by something beyond the law, which is the moral principles. Back then, I worshipped gods in order to pursue something I desired for. I was like a person without faith, easily feeling lost and empty. It was very hard to find the inner peace.
I used to be a lawyer in China. In the beginning, I felt as if I had a halo on top of my head when I walked. Not only could I help people, I could make money at the same time. It was a very good job. Slowly and gradually, I grew very, very tired. At first, it was physical fatigue. I was a perfectionist who always wanted to do the best. But was I able to? No matter how hard I worked, I could not reach perfection. I didn't understand this back then, thinking that "I" must be able to do so. I worked countless and endless overtime, like an ox. How could I not grow exhausted? Then came the spiritual fatigue. As a lawyer who dealt with all kinds of people and cases, I easily saw through the reality of this society. I worked very hard to be part of that society, as I had to survive. I had seen so much flattering, pretentiousness and deceit. I maneuvered myself among those people. Nobody trusted one another. To be honest, as their attorney or consultant, I could not easily trust them either. When you have a million-dollar case in hand, you can't afford to cause your client to lose millions as a result of your mistakes. Imagine that pressure. To make matters worse, the job of the judge was to do something, instead of doing something well. Could such a judge render justice? When you receive an unjust sentence, which could not convince you with law and facts, how would you feel? Disappointed! After one, two and three cases like this, how would you feel? Hopeless! There was no more hope. How could a society without justice turn better? This was my painful experience, as a faithless person in a faithless society.
Why did I believe in Jesus Christ? I married a Christian. Therefore, I must follow my husband's faith. In fact, I married him because he was a Christian. At first, I forced myself to believe. But it was hard to believe for the sake of believing. I didn't know who God was. A year before coming to Canada, each time when I thought that I had to believe in Jesus, my heart felt awkward. How could you believe something just like that? Later, something happened last summer, and my mind started to change. My brother hurt his feet and stayed in the hospital for a month. Then my father had a traffic accident. Not only he got injured, he injured somebody else, who stayed in the ICU for almost a month. If the victim had died, my father would end up in prison. All of a sudden, all the burden fell on my shoulder. There was nothing I could do in that situation. I was almost fallen apart. For a person without faith, disaster was only disaster. One day, I suddenly thought about God. I prayed, following my mother's example. I can't remember what I prayed about then. But I clearly remember that after praying, peace filled my heart. This was my biggest need. It would take a lot of work to settle my father's accident, yet a heart of peace was what I needed to deal with everything. Thank God that the victim survived, and recovered very well.
After coming to Canada, I eagerly attended the English Bible Class taught by Margaret and Ted. I feel truly thankful for them. They helped me know that God was the only true God. He loves us so much, and He is almighty. Yet He is so humble. Towards the "gods" in China, I feared them, afraid that they might punish me for not taking good care of them. But towards God, the only true God, I adore Him. He is all-powerful yet so humble, and loved us so much. He even gave us His only Son, so that we will not perish, but have eternal life.
I am a sinner, yet I do not fear because of God's love. God will be by our side guiding and helping us. He will cleanse all our sins, so that we will not perish, but inherit eternal life. Sure enough, I still need to grow.
I once thought I was a Buddhist. I burnt incense and worshipped the Buddha. Therefore, I was a Buddhist, like most Chinese people. But now I realized that it was not real faith. I only asked for Buddha and gods' help when I encountered difficulties and had some needs. Apart from these, Buddha had nothing to do with me. But, real faith should not be this way! A man of faith should have some sort of spiritual dependence, along with a ruler to measure up his action. We are bound by something beyond the law, which is the moral principles. Back then, I worshipped gods in order to pursue something I desired for. I was like a person without faith, easily feeling lost and empty. It was very hard to find the inner peace.
I used to be a lawyer in China. In the beginning, I felt as if I had a halo on top of my head when I walked. Not only could I help people, I could make money at the same time. It was a very good job. Slowly and gradually, I grew very, very tired. At first, it was physical fatigue. I was a perfectionist who always wanted to do the best. But was I able to? No matter how hard I worked, I could not reach perfection. I didn't understand this back then, thinking that "I" must be able to do so. I worked countless and endless overtime, like an ox. How could I not grow exhausted? Then came the spiritual fatigue. As a lawyer who dealt with all kinds of people and cases, I easily saw through the reality of this society. I worked very hard to be part of that society, as I had to survive. I had seen so much flattering, pretentiousness and deceit. I maneuvered myself among those people. Nobody trusted one another. To be honest, as their attorney or consultant, I could not easily trust them either. When you have a million-dollar case in hand, you can't afford to cause your client to lose millions as a result of your mistakes. Imagine that pressure. To make matters worse, the job of the judge was to do something, instead of doing something well. Could such a judge render justice? When you receive an unjust sentence, which could not convince you with law and facts, how would you feel? Disappointed! After one, two and three cases like this, how would you feel? Hopeless! There was no more hope. How could a society without justice turn better? This was my painful experience, as a faithless person in a faithless society.
Why did I believe in Jesus Christ? I married a Christian. Therefore, I must follow my husband's faith. In fact, I married him because he was a Christian. At first, I forced myself to believe. But it was hard to believe for the sake of believing. I didn't know who God was. A year before coming to Canada, each time when I thought that I had to believe in Jesus, my heart felt awkward. How could you believe something just like that? Later, something happened last summer, and my mind started to change. My brother hurt his feet and stayed in the hospital for a month. Then my father had a traffic accident. Not only he got injured, he injured somebody else, who stayed in the ICU for almost a month. If the victim had died, my father would end up in prison. All of a sudden, all the burden fell on my shoulder. There was nothing I could do in that situation. I was almost fallen apart. For a person without faith, disaster was only disaster. One day, I suddenly thought about God. I prayed, following my mother's example. I can't remember what I prayed about then. But I clearly remember that after praying, peace filled my heart. This was my biggest need. It would take a lot of work to settle my father's accident, yet a heart of peace was what I needed to deal with everything. Thank God that the victim survived, and recovered very well.
After coming to Canada, I eagerly attended the English Bible Class taught by Margaret and Ted. I feel truly thankful for them. They helped me know that God was the only true God. He loves us so much, and He is almighty. Yet He is so humble. Towards the "gods" in China, I feared them, afraid that they might punish me for not taking good care of them. But towards God, the only true God, I adore Him. He is all-powerful yet so humble, and loved us so much. He even gave us His only Son, so that we will not perish, but have eternal life.
I am a sinner, yet I do not fear because of God's love. God will be by our side guiding and helping us. He will cleanse all our sins, so that we will not perish, but inherit eternal life. Sure enough, I still need to grow.