Grace and Testimony

If you have free time, you can read my sharing of grace of testimony based on my personal experience.

God’s leading is so amazing that even now when I stay in a student hostel in Melbourne, Australia, I can still feel the spirit that guided me months ago.

Looking back to the ten months life in USA, it was a struggling of becoming a person who loves God. If my reborn happened in 2009 when I experienced my salvation, the ten months life in USA would be the experience that reshapes my mind to believe what it really means to follow Jesus and grow in faith. Struggling of becoming a person who loves God, this is the real process of growing in faith. Real faith will have live actions and can bear fruits. Faith without actions is a dead faith or a faith of merely speaking. To see a growing faith, there has to be this little bit of struggling. When you reach the point where normally you would stop, your limit, step forward a tiny little bit to break that limit. You may feel the hurt, and you may struggle, because that’s when you touch your limit.

Why do we live? Thanks to the evangelism experience in Los Angeles, I made it clear of the answer to this question. “What do you think is the truth of life?” While asking this question again and again to strangers in the campus of UC Irvine, I thought again and again how I would answer it. We live to love God and love people.

The deal between Olivet and Bethany took a very long time. It took a really long time and yet ended without people’s best expectation. To a lot people it might be just a little story in their daily chat and forgotten the next week. To the Olivet people, it is a history condensed by tears, hardship and prayers in exchange of a spiritual revival.

God chose many people. Among them, He chose some from a country named China. These children of God, from China, want to worship God and learn the words of God in a free country, a civilization that was founded by Christianity, USA. So a group of people spent ten years of hardworking through all kinds of ministries in order to find a place where they can settle down and comfort people’s souls. Ten years of sacrificing in exchange of the coming of many Chinese Christians may be not a long time in God’s eyes. So they come to a free country. In addition, they enjoy the free housing, free meals, and free course study. What a miracle! They call the campus Heaven! They humble themselves and learn from the civilization based on Christianity and compare them to the pilgrims. They saw people of this civilization smile to them and they also smile to them. Apparently, they were not ready to realize that some people from the civilization of Christianity do not believe their miracles, sadly and exactly the same as many stories in the Holy Bible.

It’s in this process that I learned that people will forsake you, yet you will move on because God tells you time will prove everything.

Where are those people who left Bethany? If you look this inside and look in a big picture, you’ll see how amazing God’s guidance to Olivet people is.

As for me, I may not be a typical Olivet people although I could have gone to New York City like many people and work for our ministries in a tall building in Manhattan, a very prosperous financial center of USA.  But I just didn’t feel God’s calling in that way. As now I’m starting a PhD of Applied Maths in Melbourne, it turned out my feeling was right. Indeed God never wanted me to be a businessman. He was just training me and preparing me for something bigger in my life but this would be another story and I’ll tell it later.

Therefore I was working for Yibada, Inc. as a salesman. One day we went out to meet customers in Union City. There is two-hour driving from Scotts Valley yet I had to use public transportation. We three people got down the bus at San Jose station and I immediately cached the Caltrain. I didn’t have time to think about whether that was the direction to Union City or from Union City. God blessed me; it was to Union City. Then I needed to take another bus; however I found I just missed the best time to the bus and since apparently the America’s buses are not busy as the ones in China I needed to wait for 75 minutes.

Got down the bus, after another walk, this hardworking yet inexperienced Chinese ‘salesman’ entered a private Buddhist school, his client.

After a presentation, I went out of the school. One of the listeners was a nice Chinese madam. She followed the Chinese habit and walked me out toward the gate to show her politeness and her highly concern of our business. She asked me where my car was parking. I told her with a diluted smile that my car was outside off the street and persuaded her to stop walking with me and go back to her office. I lied. She was facing a decent salesman who looked like 28 years old (I look older than my age), wore a nice suit and a pair of shiny leather shoes and hold a suitcase with a notebook in it. How do you let me tell her I walked there?

Then after a lonely (not physically) lunch in McDonald’s, following the same route, I arrived in Palo Alto. It was a late afternoon; there was a late spring wind.

I suddenly noticed the Stanford campus was just beside me and there was a free Stanford bus there. Going to a university like Stanford was my dream. Suddenly a special feeling came to me. It was like that you were thinking a dreamed lover and she suddenly appeared in your presence. I did not dare to take the bus and go inside the campus. What if I went in, entered the library and forgot to come out?

Inside the Palo Alto Caltrain customers transit center, I sat on the old wooden chair. There I watched far outside through the window. I saw the green grassland and many students causally walked over there. So many bicycles come and go. Some were happily talking something on the grassland. I was so passionate to learn English. Every afternoon on the same grassland with a hot heart. I was taking my college courses and meanwhile join the research team of my supervisor. I was doing volunteering work in church and also helping a foreign teacher with his life. What a rich year that was! That was when I fought for my dream in my youth.

Suddenly, the very romantic western music in this Venetia Cafe broke my recall of the year 2010 in my life. I realized I was in a foreign country and I was building the Kingdom of God, which is also my dream.

(As I write this story, I realized my two dreams are not parallel lines. We are building Olivet University to be the best Christian university in the world. We will be the rocks the future Olivet students step by.)

  

Then the Caltrain came. I suddenly remembered that day the result of Olivet’s application for the Moody campus in Massachusetts would come out. Hence I started to pray for that in my heart. 

Surprising Bible Story

I have told you the story that we were helped by a Mexican truck man when we lost our way. My sales team leader was Steven Wang.  He went to ask a Mexican  truck man beside the street and I was too harmed to even help him, just standing there. The truck man told Steven the way we should go. Later we walked for a while and went the wrong way. We didn’t know that until the truck man cached up us and told us. He said he would also take us to the station but each time two persons at most. As we had three people so we needed twice.

We got on his truck and worried whether he would charge us money in the end. He didn’t. We were all enlightened and thanked him by saying ‘Jesus loves you’.

Steven told me that day immediately after the Mexican truck man helped us, he thought of a parable told by Jesus.  The parable of the Good Samaritan. “30 In reply Jesus said: “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, when he was attacked by robbers. They stripped him of his clothes, beat him and went away, leaving him half dead. 31 A priest happened to be going down the same road, and when he saw the man, he passed by on the other side. 32 So too, a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. 33 But a Samaritan, as he traveled, came where the man was; and when he saw him, he took pity on him. 34 He went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he put the man on his own donkey, brought him to an inn and took care of him. 35 The next day he took out two denarii[a] and gave them to the innkeeper. ‘Look after him,’ he said, ‘and when I return, I will reimburse you for any extra expense you may have.” (Luke 10: 30-35)

When we read the story we always compare ourselves to the priest, the Levite, or the Samaritan. We never thought one day we could be in the position of the man who was going to Jericho. He was in trouble and he was suffering.

That day we acted as the man who was going to Jericho as we met troubles of going back to our campus. We saw all kinds of men passed us by and at last it was the Mexican truck man that saved us. You never totally understand a parable of Jesus!

And then Steven shared the story of Hudson Taylor, one of the most famous British Protestant Christian missionary to China, and founder of the China Inland Mission (CIM) (now OMF International). While he talked so passionately, I realized that he was far more faithful than me although I had always thought I have more abilities and knowledge than him. Ah! I am a Pharisee!

You may think that all these are idealism. Actually, the more closer to Bible a sermon is, the more idealistic it becomes. Inside the church, people are speaking their faith. Let’s also go out and act our faith. You experience first and then you have the right to speak your faith to others. When I walked in the street in San Francisco bay area and did my sales job as Christian business ministry, when I lost my way and became desperate and worrying, when I felt hungry, tired, and started to question myself, I felt the pain and suffering.

What kind of suffering was that? That’s nothing compared with Jesus’ suffering on the cross when He died to save us. Yet people just don’t want to reach that small step and touch that limit. They don’t want to get hurt. That’s what I meant by doing something that normally you would not do. Some people just want to express their faith comfortably without any pain and do things completely within their capabilities with no struggle. Actually, to me, the physical suffering cannot defeat me, it’s the suffering in spirit, the feeling of violation that makes me 

struggle the most. That’s when you feel the gap of idealism and realism. That’s when you are shaped as the USB port of dream and reality. Walking on the street of a country founded on Christianity, the moment when I decided to continue my sacrifice, I felt the coldness of capitalism. (The coldness is different but similar to the coldness of the so-called Socialism with Chinese Characteristics in China, a country who obeys dialectical materialism.) Let’s have the intention to live a Christ like life.

The Biblical and Theological Basis of Business as I Understand it

Olivet College of Business

The Biblical and Theological Basis of Business

as I Understand it

Leo Shuai

5/2/2012

MBA course - Business as Mission

General Basis of Business

Although I am now studying business administration, I didn’t realize the general basis of business until the other day I took the course Microeconomic Analysis. I came to a shock that the professor taught us that humans are innately selfish. I could not be adjusted to the thinking of business like that because I live in our community as totally living sacrificing in our ministry. Then I had to admit that’s correct because the whole conception of economy is based on the acknowledgement that we have limited resources and unlimited wants or desire. Therefore we have the knowledge of economizing and optimizing our production and life so that we can maintain the full employment of our resources in an efficient way.

But I still feel hard to accept that fact. Since the whole economy system is built upon the recognition of man’s unlimited desire, should we try to fight against this or use this as an eternally immutable theory and position our business at the most profitable spot? Though it’s naive to think that we can set up a whole different economy system if we abandon the man-is-innately-selfish basis, as a way of doing mission, we should try not to use that fact as granted and instead we should guide the trend by reflecting our lights from Jesus’s image.

The Vision of Our Business Ministry

I work in Yibada, Inc. as a sales representative. As I make phone calls every day, I think what the difference between this company and the so-called ‘worldly companies’ by us is. From the beginning, I have talked this to our marketing director. He told me that simply we distinguish our ministry by offering our revenues to the establishment of our university and missionary. Then I asked what the difference in the employment behavior and principals were? He said we were operated as a normal company therefore our all principals are about the same with other companies.  But as I work in the process I found it’s hard sometimes to concentrate on the things I should do. I don’t know the theological theories and all the biblical terms but I do believe God is in control of everything and we are walking in the path that delights Him.

Business as One Aspect of a God-centered life

All of our life should be God-centered. We have our family, relationships, church and prayers, old and new friends and career. As we are taught that the Holy Bible is the basic instruction before leaving earth. Therefore it’s true that God’s temple is in us and we should apply our talents to the organization of God’s temple.

While Jesus was in Bethany in the home of Simon the Leper, a woman came to him with an alabaster jar of very expensive perfume, which she poured on his head as he was reclining at the table. When the disciples saw this, they were indignant. “Why this waste?” they asked.  “This perfume could have been sold at a high price and the money given to the poor.” Aware of this, Jesus said to them, “Why are you bothering this woman? She has done a beautiful thing to me.  The poor you will always have with you, but you will not always have me.  When she poured this perfume on my body, she did it to prepare me for burial.  Truly I tell you, wherever this gospel is preached throughout the world, what she has done will also be told, in memory of her.”

I remember clearly one of our pastors delivered a powerful message about this event. The disciples themselves were poor. Jesus' community (Jesus and his disciples) were very poor.    We are also very poor. Under that background, the woman went so far as to break so precious jar of ointment. We are so poor that we can't almost survive. Why do we still buy this expensive campus and carry such heavy burden?

Who is the person that lived a seemingly wasting life? Jesus. It was Jesus that for our sake "wasted" life. He gave us love but definitely not by wasting his life. If we can understand Jesus' love, that woman's action was definitely not wasting. That scene was a shock by two souls. "Wherever this gospel is preached throughout the world, what she has done will also be told." When we do missions and ministries, we often come across things like this. And we tend to say that it's waste.

Jesus was walking towards the cross therefore he took the ointment not for glorifying himself. That Jesus went to the cross is action of love, which is consistent with the woman's action. But some disciples became indignant as they misunderstood Jesus.

Those that has Become Memories

I was going out to meet customers and hoping I could get a contract signed by that customer. We don’t have our own cars, neither have we had diver licenses. So we had to ask another student who would drive a rent car to a medical school that. We had little money on us. Actually we had cheque in our hands but that’s the property of the company. So to save money, we could barely eat full. It seemed that we were doing business but we were not professional at all, our hearts were still like students’ though we dressed suits. After we finished our business, we wanted to go back to the campus, but the driver was taking class therefore we had to wait for him. It was evening and I felt hungry. Not taking cars for a long time, the carsickness made me feel uncomfortable. Later that night we arrived at the campus, and since it had been past the dinner time so we had to grab some food in the kitchen by ourselves. The moment I passed through the chapel to the kitchen up over the steep parking lot, cool night wind passed my face. Watching the swaying trees in the darkness, suddenly it dawned on me that I was breaking my Alabaster Jar of Precious Ointment. It felt so painful and frustrating because you had thought that you knew the true essence of following Jesus Christ and you wanted to challenge your limits. But you never know the pain until you hit the wall of your selfishness, that’s your limit. Then you realize that you were nothing more than this although you could have been thinking you were somebody unlike that. Then I realized I had a way longer way to go. To some points, I even thought knowing my limit is so frustrating and maybe we should not try anymore because we will never going to be like Jesus Christ.     

Another time, we were out meeting customers. We dressed very like a professional businessman yet we don’t have cars. After signing a contract with a customer, I got cash from her. I was not excited at all. Walking in the old El Commino Street I had to wait for the driver for a long time. Later we decided to go back by public transportation. My co-worker who is also my leader said he knew the way to the train station. But later I found he didn’t know and we had to walk in the street for a long time. Carrying our suitcases, I felt we were very strange people in the street. I knew I could not change anything but I was just tempted by disorganized, tiring work we had to do. I complained in my heart and I could find the reason I did that thing. The whole street seemed to be so cold because no one would be willing to stop and take us to the station. Then my co-worker went to ask Spanish beside the street and I was too harmed to even help him just standing there. Later we walked for a while and went the wrong way. We didn’t know that

 Until the truck man catched us and told us. He said he would also dive us to the station but each time two persons at most. As we had three people so we needed twice. We got on his truck and worried whether he would charge us money in the end. He didn’t. We were all enlightened and thanked him by saying Jesus loves you to him. Especially me, I believed he was an angel God sent to us so that we wouldn’t think our suffering is wasting.

Now I think of the story of breaking the alabaster jar of ointment. We also have misunderstanding and we also get angry when we cannot really understand the world of love. From which point did Judas go wrong? That's why it's important that we understand our sin deep inside of us as there are many problems involving visual angels. “You will be ever hearing but never understanding; you will be ever seeing but never perceiving. For this people's heart has become calloused; they hardly hear with their ears, and they have closed their eyes." (Matthew 13:14-15) What Jesus did in front of the disciples were world of love. For many people, indeed Jesus’ life was always wasting. Because of love there is waste that cannot be understood. People look at things like this with eyes open but they just don't understand the world of love. Eventually it turns to anger.

We went through pain and we should know that life is God centered and business is just one aspect of our living sacrifice. Now we are like worms; we’ll go through the pain of become a butterfly. That’s our hope and power source of all our suffering.

New Christian

Recently I did something related to Christianity .and I found many questions about it .through Christianity, I found the world of religion .I don`t know how Christianity or Lord will lead me to the future, but I undoubtedly know that to become a Christian will be one of the things that influence me most in college days .before, I am blank in religion. Now, I find a new life. It's new so it`s much tender.

On the other hand, I have been living in a Chinese cultural atmosphere, and although I try not to follow others I was unconsciously influenced by the society and have grown up under my parents and teachers` edification. During these 21 years` life I have few chances to touch religion and most of what I have heard about religion is negative effects.

Thus, when I find the significance of religions to a human being and begin to accept some thoughts about God, I`m confused .and occasions can be worse when there are many different theories, because as a new Christian I don't know whom I should listen to. Things are this way; I joined the translation team of Gong He church. And all the members in the team are baptized except me and through communications with them I found that they are strict Christians and God-centered. I can`t accept all their viewpoints .I went to the library and scan some Christian books and found many theories and researches, they are open and comprehensive. Then I told this to Jinfeng, a Chinese Christian who taught me the Bible. Jinfeng is also a strict Christian and he told me that I shouldn't read those books since I am still cultivating a Christianity faith. Then I got puzzled .at last, I found every question stem from one question: Do you believe the GOD? If you believe God, you must give all to God even your thoughts. Finally, these things make me addled.

Another problem is, whether the Christianity I joined is in the true sense. It’s very difficult for Christianity to develop in China. The government is not supportive .the Chinese Christianity is a tainted Christianity. Community of nations does not
recognize the Chinese Christianity. Sad! I can`t learn real Christianity in China.

But then again, in terms of country, what did Christianity bring to us? I guess more than eighty percent of the people in Vatican are Christians, but as a whole Vatican is not much better than China. Why? I don`t know .but I definitely know that the spirit of Christianity is essential for the revived China and her people. The temporary Chinese are more and more blundering. From the very beginning of the history, the Chinese nation is a proud nation. The Chinese people never stop thinking that they are the greatest nation in the world. The virtue named modest is actually kingly pride. I hope Christianity can help the Chinese get off the pride in their bones.

As for me, what did Christianity bring to me? Struggle! Struggle between God and me! Where is God`s Kingdom? In Gong he church, a couple from America show me how people will be like in God`s Kingdom. They are always warm and friendly to everyone and they are always joyful. I, however, seeing my sins every day, can't be in that state .I`m not used to bearing the cross yet. I still have a long way to go.