Coming from a Chinese family I have been practicing my faith passed down by my ancestors. Since childhood, I practiced ancestral worship and all other kinds of idol worship including even the worship of Thai and Hindu idols at one stage, because my parents practiced it and instructed me to do the same. I was quite rebellious at that time and kept on questioning my faith and trying to find reasons to stay away from all those kind activities. At one stage, I even thought that there was no God at all and that God was just a figment of human imagination. Thus I would rather believe in the evolution theory rather than theology.
I acted that way because my parents once told me that by worshipping the idols a person would receive blessings and protection. I thought that belief was rather ridiculous. There was no peace at all in my family, neither was there any protection for my family. My parents often argued and there was always tension in the home. The fact that my mom is the over-sensitive type and my dad, the aggressive type didn’t help; rather, it worsened the family conflicts. As a result of one such conflict, the car we were travelling crashed into a drain leaving the vehicle damaged. This happened even though we were playing Buddhist chants very loudly in the car.
I also questioned the practice of praying to ancestors. Why pray to them after their death? Can they really bless and protect us? If so, why did accidents and conflicts still happen? All these incidents caused me to be skeptical about religion and reject it totally. I could not accept that God is real. Why should we continue to perform various rituals without obtaining anything in return? My behavior was not acceptable to my parents and I was branded as unfaithful and proud. Thus I found it hard to respect them and our relationship became strained.
Then one day, my dad was invited him to the church service by one of his friends. My dad, being a worshipper of nearly every kind of god, accepted the invitation readily. He was looking for financial breakthrough so he thought he could do with more blessings from one more God – this time, the Christian God. Moreover, he was attracted to Christianity, so took the whole family to the church one day.
I accompanied him although very reluctantly. I thought that this was just another foolish and futile religious pursuit. I decided that I would have no part in any of this religion because there is no God worthy of my worship. What I experienced in that church on that day, however, caused me to rethink my stand on Christianity. I was amazed at the way they worshipped their God. There was no incense or sacrifices offered in the church. All they did was just worshipping God with their heart.
Later, other members of my family believed in and accepted Jesus Christ as their Saviour and Lord and became Christian. My dad tried to encourage me to accept Jesus too but I declined again and again. I remember that during Christmas season in 2005, I was given the opportunity to say the sinner’s prayer and I complied but I was not serious about it. Although I didn’t feel any different then, I believe something happened to me spiritually.
A month later, my dad decided to get rid of the idols in my house because he wanted to worship Jesus alone. I personally felt relieved because there would be no more incense smoke in my house. Although I was still not a believer of Christ at that moment, I felt contempt for the idols and gladly participated in the destruction of the idols. We destroyed and burned every idol in the house that day. I was happy because I did not have to listen to all the monotonous chanting in my house again.
Strange things began to happen after that, which I didn’t understand. During Chinese New Year, when I was having reunion dinner with my relatives in a vegetarian restaurant, I felt a weird sensation in my body and my limbs started to shake. To my horror, my nails turned purple which was a shock to my relatives. I was rushed to the nearby clinic because there was no hospital nearby.
I thought I was dying. The doctor who was present suspected severe food poisoning and gave me a thorough examination but found nothing wrong with my body. I couldn’t stop shaking and the doctor suggested that I be admitted to the hospital immediately. My dad refused to have me admitted although the doctor had issued a letter of admission. He believed in the healing power of Christ and he prayed for me in faith. In desperation, I cried out to the Lord Jesus for help and I felt relieved. Some how I felt that something had come out from my body.
I understood then that I had experienced what was known as a “spiritual attack”. The demons were trying to take revenge because of my participation in the spiritual cleansing of my house. Tears flowed non-stop and I knew from that moment on that I had been set free by a supernatural power that was infinitely greater than the demonic power. I realized that Jesus was that superior power and that He was real and He had set me free! I repented and asked for forgiveness from Him. That was the point of my real acceptance of Jesus as my Lord and Saviour.
God is so merciful and faithful to me. He keeps waiting for me although I refused to believe in Him at first. I believe I finally came to the Lord because of my parents’ prayers on my behalf. He is always there for me no matter what state I am in . I thank God for this chance of salvation and His never-ending love for me. I praise Him for what I am today.
The admission letter to the hospital still remained unopened to this day. Besides my own experiences of God’s grace, God has also been faithful to my own father. He is a well known businessman in our area. He has been involved in some huge projects and although he is currently in a financial crisis, God still sends a few of His servants to encourage him. This is the reason why he is still firm in his faith in God and he continues to believe in His promise and trust Him for the successful completion of his projects.
Great change has came over our family. There is now a peaceful and harmony atmosphere in the home as our family members know how to love one another and God loves them. To God be the glory.
Yee Cang Ling is the eldest son of Bro Barnabas Yee Chee Keat, Vice-President of the Alor Setar Chinese Chapter. They worship at the Full Gospel Church, Alor Setar, Kedah.
No comments:
Post a Comment