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Personal
Testimonies
Why Our Faith is in Jesus Christ
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Poem:
When I say I am a Christian
When I say I am a
Christian
I'm not shouting I am saved;
I whisper I get lost
that's why I chose this way.
When I say I am a
Christian
I'm not trying to be strong;
I'm professing I am weak
I pray for strength to carry on.
When I say I am a
Christian,
I'm not bragging of success;
I admit I have failed
and cannot even pay the debt.
When I say I am a
Christian,
I am not claiming to be perfect
my flaws are too visible,
but God believes I'm worth it.
When I say I am a
Christian,
I still feel the sting of pain
I have my share of heartaches
that's why I seek His name.
When I say I am a
Christian
I speak of this with pride
I'm confessing I have stumbled,
and need someone for a guide.
When I say I am a
Christian
I do not wish to judge;
I have no real authority
I only know I am loved.
- anonymous
How Christ came
into my life
I grew up with a family that did not know Christ. Our only contact with religion was occasionally attending a Catholic or Lutheran service during major holidays (like Easter or Christmas).
During my high school years, I was on the school debate team. Since my debate partner and a few others were Christians, we had plenty of late evening discussions about how no one could "prove" that there was a God or answer a myriad of other "if there really was a God, then why does he allow…" types of arguments. Later when my older brother became a Christian, I had
many opportunities to question him, too.
During one of my visits home from college, I answered the door when two Jehovah Witnesses came calling. After I spoke with them for a while, they left some literature and departed. Immediately, my brother felt compelled to talk with me. "I didn't know you were interested in religion," he started.
Compared with other times when we talked, he didn't try to answer all of my tough questions. Instead, he gave me a rational reason why he believed.
Then he told me how I had already exercised faith in choosing not to believe
in anything. That was a surprise to me. My brother asked me to consider:
1. Although there's no way to prove that there is a God, there's also no way to prove there
isn't a God.
2. There are really only four basic possibilities:
- In the two cases (B & D) where there is no God, it doesn't matter what I believe. It only matters if there is a God (A & C).
- If God exists and I don't believe (C), then the Bible promises that I'll be eternally punished for all my sins.
- If God exists and I do believe in Him (A), then I can have eternal life.
3. Believing in God is FREE. In fact, if I change my mind, I can always "un-believe" Him.
All it would take was a small step of faith
to believe in God. If God is real, my prayer would be answered as He revealed Himself to me. Otherwise, there would be nothing to believe. Although my faith was as small as a mustard seed, the next day, I prayed to accept Christ into my heart, December 25, 1981.
Finally
found my way
I was first exposed to Christianity when I was in high school. My family and I attended a Presbyterian church, and the experience was definitely passive. That is, we attended the church service
and then left. Church to me was two hours on Sunday mornings. I was thankful that my father, the Christian in the family, never forced much of his belief on his children. When I left home for college, I stopped going to church.
Growing up during the Vietnam War years, perhaps it was easier to be cynical about a lot of things in life, including religion. I believed in the physical: whatever you can see and feel, that is the reality of life. One needs not search for 'the meaning of life," it is simply the journey itself. I believed that the origin of life was the chance encounter of the elements and in the Theory of Evolution; any other explanation was just not plausible.
Time went by quickly and before I knew it, I have gone through college, graduate school, marriage, and starting a family. Except for a layoff early in my career, I felt lucky and content with my middle-class existence.
At one point in my career, I had to study the toxic effects of industrial chemicals on people. As a trained chemist and having worked in chemical manufacturing, I found a renewed wonder in the beauty and complexity of life processes. The human body is the most amazing chemical machinery ever devised. Did it all start with a chance encounter of certain atoms, as I always believed, or did forces beyond man's comprehension create the universe?
Later, I was transferred to another facility. There I became acquainted with several Christians. I lunched with them many times in the company cafeteria. Sometimes I would just enjoy and listen to them discussing about the Bible,
There was something about their lives that I found very intriguing. My wife and I had gone to some Christian gatherings, but still there were more questions than satisfactory answers.
Then the shock came when I was laid-off for the second time in my career. Suddenly my world was turned upside down. Now, in my early 40s, I faced the uncertainty of having to find employment, and most likely, will have to relocate. It may be hard to imagine in booming Silicon Valley today, but back then most of the country was still in a recession, and my work is not computer-related. The prospect was bleak indeed.
My Christian friends were very supportive and prayed for me. I remember one of them said, "When God closes one door, He opens another." In my last work day, as I bid my good-byes to them, they urged me to seek Christ.
After about two weeks at home I had a call one night, the caller was looking for someone with my background for a consulting job at a facility only half an hour from my house. As it turned out, I had made a casual comment to a casual acquaintance that I will be leaving my company soon and was looking for work, which in turn led to the phone call. It was not something I obtained on my own; it was a gift from heaven. I have no doubt that God intervened through the prayers of my friends.
The job provided such a psychological lift that words are not sufficient to describe. The job itself was professionally satisfying, but more importantly, the people I worked with were like a family. I felt accepted and valued, The consulting job was temporary so I had to continue my job search.
Not having many professional contacts, suddenly I had help from several people who gave me leads. One provided a name in the Northern California chapter of our professional society, and she graciously mailed me their job listings even though I wasn't a member. Through this listing, I applied and eventually had two job offers in the Bay Area. 1 was overjoyed with the prospect of coming to the Bay Area since most of our relatives are here and the reputation of the local school systems are excellent. The company I joined didn't even mind not having me on board for another month so I could complete the consulting job.
God continued to work through our lives. We were able to sell the house in a depressed market. Later, my wife and children stayed with relatives until we could find a place of our own in the Bay Area. And through our relatives, we came to CCIC, Mountain View.
Mind you, there were still questions. Through readings, I reconciled the scientific and the spiritual questions in my mind. What was a giant stumbling block seemed trivial today. Most of all, I began to comprehend the meaning of faith - believing in the unseen and the unknown. It is more than just an intellectual understanding, but having a desire for it. Where did the desire come from? I can only attribute to God working through our lives, Two years ago, after a year at CCIC, my wife and I were baptized.
I remember years ago, I snickered when someone said to me, "Jesus is the way, the only way." After more than twenty years, I am finally able to understand it and embrace it.
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