Spread the Love Around

Titan with his wife Shirley and his child Boaz

　　I was converted in a gospel camp organized by the school during the latter half of my primary school years; however, as I was still unsure of my faith, my early church life lasted for just a couple of months. Thank God, He did not forget me. He sent an angel to me. As chance had it, I came to know a friend who took me to church, which had turned a new leaf in my church life since.

Spread the Love Around

　　During my life in a small group at church, I felt a love among the group members that was more than friendship, a love that I had never felt at school. Although the group met only once a week, which was not long in terms of the time we could spend together, the sharing among us, which was effective and openhearted, made me fall into the arms of the church again. This was what my heart had been yearning for.

　　Since then, the Holy Spirit began to work in me, gradually pouring love into my life. I also began to pass this love on to others. Once a quiet little boy, I became known by all as someone who always cracked cold jokes. I hoped I could keep bringing laughter and love to those around me so that they might feel the love of God. As time passed, I started serving in the church, from taking part in the children’s Summer Bible School to being a mentor for the youth and teenagers.

Are You Willing to Devote Your Whole Life to Serving the Lord?

　　Just when I had settled down in my church life, I was admitted into the university. Once I had stepped into this merry world of university, I was presented with countless novel, interesting and extremely eye-catching stalls for clubs and associations to enroll into. That said, under the amazing arrangement of God, my heart was captured by a place which was inconspicuous on the campus – the Chaplain’s Office of the Baptist University. There, at the university fellowship, I experienced a religious life that I had never tasted before. It was eye-opening to me. Together with brothers and sisters coming from different churches, I took a deep look into our faith. We kept watch for one another, and applied what we had learnt from God to our personal, campus and community lives.

　　During the three years of my university life, I had taken part in a few mission trips, the most impressive one being the religious exchange with students of Chung Yuan Christian University in Taiwan. One evening during the trip, a special gathering was held. Blurred as the memory was, I still remember the speaker challenging us with a question: “Are you willing to devote your whole life to serving the Lord?” He cited the verse: “Jesus replied, ‘Foxes have dens and birds have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head’” (Mt 8:20). I did not know how to respond to this at that time. My heart just kept pounding. While I was giving thought to this, my tears kept falling. This was the first time God called me. However, I did not respond. Instead I lay it gently in my heart.

　　A couple of years later, during a devotional reading of the Scriptures, the same verse came to me again. This time I was much calmer. I was less emotional than the first time but the feeling was more solid, as if it were a very concrete reminder to me. I kept thinking and praying about this. After that, the idea of serving the Lord full-time started to bud in my heart.

March toward the Goal

　　Having the goal of “serving God full-time” set, I kept pondering over how I could achieve it. My first thought was to enroll for theological studies at a seminary and then become a pastor in a church; however, the pastor of my church gave me some other advice. Thinking that I was too young at that time, he suggested I work for a period of time first so that I could gain more first-hand understanding of the situations and needs of those I aimed to serve in future.

　　Over the past few years, I had been mainly serving the youth and adolescents at church. For this reason, I tried to look for Christian institutions which served the younger generation. Under God’s guidance, I came to know Christian Zheng Sheng College (CZSC), which was recruiting teachers then. Not knowing if I was suitable for the job, I braced myself to apply for the post. At that time, Principal Chan suggested that I, instead of attending an interview, experience the actual life at the school for a couple of days before making any decision. As a result, I determinedly went to this drug-rehab school at Chi Ma Wan on Lantau Island.

　　The few days’ experience was unforgettable. The teachers and students led a simple life on this isolated peninsula. Deeply engrossed by the conversations among them, I just wanted to listen on, without any desire to sleep. Despite this, I did not opt for staying at the school in the end because working there would only mean I would be a teacher transmitting knowledge from their books. What I understood from the experience was, however, that the students not only needed knowledge from books but the mighty power of the Gospel that could transform them. Then what about teaching there and preaching to them after school? It wouldn’t work either. Even the youngest one of them had much richer life experience than I did. This experience at CZSC had given me greater motivation to equip myself for stepping onto the road God had shown me.

Walking with the Young

　　In the following years, I worked at the Boys’ Brigade, Hong Kong, which gave me a chance to broaden my vision. Over the past years, I could say I had been working in the “frontline” in serving the young at church, with very close contacts with them; in this institution, which also served the young, my work was mainly “behind the scenes.” I had learnt a precious lesson from this “big difference.” My major duty was to plan activities and liaise with co-workers in various churches or schools. Through such liaison, I witnessed how committed these people were in devoting themselves to youth work. The way I served at church in the past was quite uniform, or routine, but what I had seen in these few years had enriched my vision.

　　God’s instructions have been very clear to me. The community I served and those I serve now are mainly the youth and adolescents, who are important members of the church and the generation who is going to get the baton from us. Despite the way they were labeled or ignored in the last six months or so, I am willing to fulfill God’s calling on me by continuing to serve the youth.