The preacher of the church I attend has shared his testimony for so many times,which has comforted so many disciples. Why do I say this? Every time when you sigh for the hardness of life and your faith in God begins to be weak,the brothers and sisters around you will tell you that you should follow the example of Preacher Ren. When being asked why the example of Preacher Ren, they will answer,"The Preacher has actually experienced so much!"
Unlike most of the post-80s, Preacher Ren didn't live a comfortable life in his childhood. He felt the hardship of life at a young age because of the crisis of his family. According to Preacher Ren, his life can be divided into three periods. Before his father's early death, he had had a simple and good time. And he fell into the dark abyss after his father's death. Not until he went to the college and found the knowledge of God,did he return the world of brightness."However,what I am today is the grace of God,"said he.
Preacher Ren was born in a remote village in Anhui. His parents were both unsophisticated farmers, who raised four children. Ren was the eldest child and he have one younger brother and two sisters. In his memory, he never lived a abundant life but always felt happy and had much memory of happiness.
But that's when things could get dicey, some things that happened later totally changed the fate of this family. When he was nine and in primary school, his father committed suicide by drinking pesticide without a sign. Because his father had good reputation in the village and the clan, his sudden death was said to be caused by Ren's mother. The old conflicts then were intensified.His mother not only suffered from great stress of life alone,but confronted the sarcasm of her clansmen as well. He and his siblings also suffered a lot of pain which could have been avoided. Henceforth, he became depressed and fell into the dark abyss with fear and confusion.
Afterwards, his failure in the high school entrance examinations became a great impact on him. He and his siblings were all in primary school at first. At that time,the state started to popularize 9-year compulsory education, so all of them were entitled to go to junior middle school. However, his family was too poor to have all the children educated. His uneducated mother could only afford to send him and his brother to school. His two sisters dropped out of school and went to work after finished primary school,when they were only twelve or so.
He graduated from junior middle school and went to a general high school in the town,thinking he had let his families down. The first semester of Grade One, there was a beautiful and outstanding girl sitting behind him. They were close and communicated a lot, so he began to like that girl. Although he was too shy to reveal his love to her, he still suspected that there was always someone staring at him. He was so nervous that he was afraid to talk to that girl even to other girls in his class. With many strange thoughts in his mind, he was involved in depression and developed asthma. Though he tried to cheer himself up in many ways,such as talking to somebody and reading some psychological books, everything was in vain.
His college entrance examination was certainly a failure. When he came back home, his mother still welcomed him with a smile. But he was so depressed that he told his mother his passive thoughts of wanting to die. On hearing that,his mother stopped smiling and went out of home with sorrow.His second college entrance examinations was not a total success, so he went to a local junior college. The novelty of his freshman year slightly eased his nervous, but there were still fear and anxiety in his mind.During the second semester of his freshman year, he was involved in the old darkness and depression again. He failed to see any hope in the future and believed his life would soon come to an end.
He kept thinking and seeking the answer alone, but he never found the answer given by the world.One Saturday afternoon in the college, many students were having a nap, while he was walking in a path on the campus alone,thinking how to end his hopeless life. Suddenly, he heard a clear voice saying "you are supposed to go to church!" He turned around, only to find nobody behind him or near him. But he wasn't frightened,for the voice was so soft and full of mercy.
He never heard of church and knew neither where the church was nor who said that.But he intuitively knew the church could save him.At that moment,he clearly felt the call from God.From that moment,his life was out of darkness into light.For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened. At a time when network is undeveloped,he managed to find the local Christian Church and Youth Fellowship.Soon,having got comfort and truth in God's words,he made his Prayer of Confession and baptized into Christ.The intangible pain once had was healed by God.The seed of pain buried in his heart was removed by God.The answer sought eagerly by him was given by God.
He said,his sense of mission of preaching was waken by a story shared by a brother.That brother saw a schoolmate leaped to his own death with his own eyes.The suicide victim was like a bird flying across the sky,but he finally fell straight to his death,which might be called as a relief.However,the mother of the suicide victim was involved in great pain and cried all day long in the place where her son died.
Preacher Ren found the spiritual emptiness and mental pain of the undergraduates.He thought back his own experience.He might have had the same result like that man without the call of God.When he was in pain,nobody came to preach him and let him have exposure earlier.If the suicide victim had have heard the gospel,he might have had a different result.In this way,he started thinking of preaching the gospel and serving God.
Looking at his lifetime,he has experienced the deep valley,the comfort of God,the call of God and the mission of preaching.God amazingly leads his way and always has a wonderful purpose for him.God's ways are higher than our ways and God's thoughts than our thoughts,said Preacher Ren.
Today his families also come to God and his clan has also changed.From getting the sarcasm of the clansmen for poverty to living a happy life,the life of him and his family has totally changed.The result of Preacher Ren's life witness to the grace of God and manifest the glory of God.
