Since
the day I became a Christian, my greatest desire
has been that everyone in my family knows God’s
love for them. I wish for them to experience the
joy, the hope and the peace that come from knowing
Jesus.
But it is not easy
to speak to our loved ones about God. Unlike
friends and even strangers who would often out of
politeness hear us out, my family members would
always tell me that they are not interested
whenever I tried to share the gospel with them. In
the last 35 years since my conversion, I have
constantly prayed that God would reveal Himself to
them and that one day everyone in my family will
know His forgiving grace.
It was one of the
happiest times in my life when my mother finally
came to Christ. She was converted about six years
before her baptism. She was then in her sixties.
She had been a devout idol and temple worshipper
prior to her conversion. When we were young, all
the children were dedicated to the temple gods. I
still remember that on the first day of every
Lunar New Year she would bring us to the temple
first before we visited our grandparents.
My mother used to
be very hostile to Christianity in the beginning.
But she became more accepting when she saw the
transforming power of God in my life and that of
my youngest brother, who had also become a
Christian.
Since my
conversion, I had tried to invite my mother to
church and talked to her about Jesus. But she
always gave the excuses that it would be wrong for
her to take on a new culture; she had worshipped
idols all her life and it would not be right to
betray her culture. Like many others, my mum had
the misconception that Christianity is a Western
culture while Buddhism, Taoism and ancestor
worship belong to the Chinese culture. Moreover,
my dad had died an unbeliever and my mum said she
should join him wherever he is in the afterlife. I
could only pray for her then and I had prayed for
her for more than 20 years before she finally
decided to be baptized.
During all those
years of praying for my family, I always asked God
to be merciful and to send someone to share the
gospel with them. I prayed; “Lord, please reveal
yourself to my mother, my brothers and sister. Let
them know how much you love them.”
My mother’s conversion was nothing short of a
miracle and a direct encounter with God. She came
to faith on the day I underwent a radical neck
surgery for cancer. I had undergone weeks of
radiotherapy 18 months before the surgery.
Unfortunately, my doctor suspected that there was
another cancerous tumor on the left side of my
neck and told me that I needed to go for surgery.
I only told my
mother of the surgery the night before the
operation as I didn’t want her to worry. But like
all mothers she was very concerned. Later she told
me that she could not sleep that night as she was
fearful about what would happen to me. So she came
out to the living room and sat in the darkness.
There was suddenly
a bright light in the room in the middle of the
night and she saw a man standing in the bright
light. Somehow she knew immediately that man was
Jesus.
She said Jesus came
to her side, put His hand on her shoulder and told
her not to worry. Jesus promised her that I would
call her when I came out of the surgery the next
day.
I was wheeled into
the operating theatre about seven the following
morning and did not come back to the ward till
after 6 pm. I was heavily sedated and didn’t know
what was going on and who was in the ward.
Apparently, the ward was full of my church
friends, including the pastor, my husband and my
mother.
As the nurses put
me on the bed, I opened my eyes for a fleeting
second and vaguely saw my mother. I called her.
The ward was full of people but I didn’t see
anyone except my mother. I didn’t speak to anyone
except my mother and I didn’t say anything except
to call her. My mother was shocked at that moment
when I called her as this was exactly what Jesus
had promised her the night before. “Wow, this
Jesus, certainly knows everything,” she thought.
My pastor sent her
home after that and explained the gospel to her in
the car. My mother accepted the Lord that very
evening and went to church on her own the
following Sunday. What a miracle!
I asked my mother
once why did she decide to become a Christian
after so many years of resisting it. Her answer
was simple. She said, “Because Jesus cares for an
old woman like me.”
I was moved. I had
prayed for years that God would reveal Himself to
my mother and that she may know His love. And
Jesus did just that. He appeared to my mother in
her anxiety and let her know that He cares for
her. Praise the Lord!
My mum’s conversion
gave me new motivation to pray for the rest of my
siblings. I believe prayer is the key that will
unlock the hearts of those whose mind is closed to
the gospel. It is our God-given duty to pray for
our unbelieving loved ones that they too will know
God and His love for them. And we need to pray
without ceasing until the day they come to Christ.
Amen.
