"They say that one believes, and the whole family is blessed. My mother is a believer, but why don't you bless me?" Suffering from lupus erythematosus and a huge loss in his once successful career, Brother Li Jun, who still didn’t quite believe the Lord, complained to God in prayer. However, after twenty years of believing in the Lord, he can now confidently declare, "One believes, and the whole family is blessed!"
The Only Christian in the Family
When Li Jun was a child, his mother was the only Christian in his family.
Li's mother was born into a well-off family in Tianjin and followed Jesus while studying at Nankai Girls' High School. During her whole life, even in the face of difficulties because of her faith, she had kept her faith and always hoped that her children would believe in Jesus.
"My mother had a difficult life." In Li's memory, his mother suffered a lot because of her Christian faith. She was once detained due to her belief in the Lord and suspected of being a spy. Then she was forced to parade through the street wearing a big hat as a symbol of shame. Li Jun and his brothers and sisters also had a difficult time when they were young, being called "puppies". This seriously affected their study, work, life, and other aspects. Even in this kind of difficult situation, his mother taught her children to respond with love. "When you give someone a stool, you give yourself a stool; If someone strikes you on the right cheek, turn around and let him strike you on the left." His mother got through the hard times with faith, but her children were deeply hurt and refused to believe in the Lord.
During those painful years, Li’s mother carefully preserved the Old and New Testament, the treasure that Brother Li now regards as an heirloom. They often couldn't find it because their mother always hid it. It took great courage to keep the Bible in those difficult years.
When his mother was quite old, she rarely went to church because she was too old to move. Even so, her greatest hope was that her children could go to church and believe in the Lord. Recalling the last days of her life, Li Jun can't help sobbing. "When she was in bed, she often told me to say the Lord's Prayer, and we said the Lord's Prayer together. My mother had a lot of pain in her leg. She told me not to cling to things on earth and our hope is in heaven."
"I sometimes wonder how happy my mother would be if she could see that all of us now believe the Lord."
In the Dilemma, Li Encountered the Christian Faith
Li Jun is the first of his siblings to believe in Jesus. He initially went to church just to make his mother happy. Happy to know his church attendance, his mother also told him to do some help in the church. But after hanging up the phone, he went about his business.
At that time, Li was very busy with his career. The Heavenly Melody Audio Co., Ltd., which he founded, did well and could undertake sound services for large-scale sports games, performances, and parties in the city. In 2005, he won the local Youth Entrepreneurship Award, and later, his company won the local government's Culture Creative Award.
When mentioning Heavenly Melody, Li can't help but think of her mother. "The name of the company was given by my mother, and 'Heavenly Melody' is 'the voice of heaven', so that my company could glorify and serve the Lord. I didn't understand the meaning of it then, but I get it now."
Looking at the continuous development of his company, Li felt that the future was bright, and did not expect that the dark clouds were waiting for him behind. Two days before the opening of a sports meeting attended by tens of thousands of people, a typhoon blew down his company's stereo system hanging high in the sky. Although it did not hurt anyone, it had a bad impact on his business, and few people dared to ask him to take charge of large-scale projects. Then a fire burned down the warehouse where he kept his equipment, causing him heavy losses.
At the same time that his career took a hit, Li Jun has also suffered serious problems in his health. He developed lupus erythematosus, and there is no effective treatment plan. "My eye mask, the mouth, and all the mucous membranes were rotten, and my tongue and throat too. It was extremely difficult to treat and there is no cure." In the desperate situation, he thought of the God his mother had always believed in, and realized that what he had experienced might be God's arrangement. “I said to God, ‘Let me live, and I will believe. If you don't want me to live, just let me die soon.’” During his illness, his mother and several church workers kept praying for him.
One day, Li experienced what he thought was a miracle of "resurrection". He was trying to wake up from a coma in intensive care, but he couldn't. However, he could "see" his mother and an elder by his side. He felt himself floating in the air, and then he saw white clouds and black clouds. Suddenly, he felt he was falling out of the sky and would be broken to pieces if he did not stop it. He was terrified. As he was about to fall to the ground, he shouted, "Jesus save me!" Then he woke up.
After his health improved, he took the initiative to go to the church, knelt down, and prayed for a confession of guilt. Gradually, his lupus was cured, and even if there were occasional symptoms, they were only mild. After he recovered from the illness, he still could not let go of his previous work and reminisced about those good times. However, the past would always be the past.
Through service, Li experienced the sweetness of faith
At first, Li Jun was reluctant to accept the business order from the church, feeling that the profit was small and the workload of after-sales service was large. Sometimes the equipment was just out of power or the reason for problems was just improper operation, but the church workers thought that the equipment was broken, and asked them to come to repair. Sometimes the response was not timely, and the church workers were quite unsatisfied. Although he did not want to, he did not dare to refuse. Recalling the service in the church at the beginning, Li Jun described it as "treading on eggs", saying that he did it with much caution.
An accidental chance pushed him strongly towards the church. At that time, the church was holding a large praise meeting and rented sound equipment from a company, but the equipment was not good. At this time, a pastor recommended he fix it, and after his debugging, the sound effects were good, and he became famous in the local church. The pastor who held this praise meeting also recommended Li to other churches to share his knowledge of sound control during the spiritual training meeting.
Twenty years ago, the first time he shared his knowledge of sound control in a church pulpit was a memorable experience for him. He was so nervous at the thought of the pastors and the 300 or so people in the congregation that he wrote the prayer on a piece of paper in advance and put it in his suit pocket. But when the audience closed their eyes and waited, he could not find his written prayer! But in the end, he prayed better than he had written in advance, and he was deeply moved himself. The next half day of sharing was also very smooth. Since everyone was satisfied, the church arranged a full day of sharing for him.
After many pastors in the audience listened to Li’s sharing, they invited him to share it in their churches. From then on, he began to preach in various churches. In the face of invitations from churches around China, he found it hard to refuse and gradually put the focus of his work on the church. At the same time, he was also worried that if he pursued worldly things again, he may again face God's discipline.
After many years of work in the church, he entered the third phase of his church work - doing it with gratitude. Able to come to this step, Li Jun is especially grateful to the help of the church pastor and God's sustenance along the way, and now he has the safeness and joy that he did not have when he made a lot of money in the past. "Sometimes when I was driving, I couldn't help crying, but they were happy tears." He thought back to the past when he only knew how to make money, but he did not know what to do after he made money. Today, he sees his work as a commitment from God, which is a heavy mission.
In the process of engaging in sound ministry, ge also went to Northeast Theological Seminary to study theology for two years in 2017, so that he had a clearer understanding of his sense of responsibility and mission.
The Family Came to the Lord One After Another
Li's job required constant travel, and his wife, also a Christian, was a staunch supporter of his ministry. He often traveled between home and church constantly. Sometimes he may work for more than 10 days at a time without going home, and sometimes there Are urgent matters, such as helping a church that has caught fire due to electrical problems.
Li's elder sister rejected her mother's faith, but after many experiences, she also believed in Jesus and participated in church ministry. Looking at the blessing of his family today, Li Jun often recalls his mother's hope. "If only mother was alive now!" he said.
Li Jun’s oldest son has also become a Christian. Li said that his eldest son had the best relationship with his mother, who always looked after him when she was alive, and his mother's death hurt his eldest son greatly. Once, the eldest son dreamed that Li Jun’s mother was watching him play balls, and when he went to the stands after playing, he found that his grandmother was gone. He said to Li, "It's so good to see grandma, I really hope I didn't wake up from that dream. Would I see grandma again?" Li told his son, "Let's continue to believe in the Lord, and one day when we meet in heaven, we'll be able to meet her again."
- Translated by Nicolas Cao
