This is how, by the grace of God, I was reached and saved. I was born in Malaysia into a typical Chinese family. However, my parents were very involved in family business, and, as a result, thoughts about spiritual matters were non-existent. Due to the political unrest in Malaysia at the time, I was sent to Singapore for schooling from the 6th grade through high school under the care of a guardian. During my stay there, all that I was concerned with was pleasing my parents with good academic results, hoping to get accepted into medical school.
Although I did well in high school, I was not able to get into medical school. This was a great disappointment to my parents and to me. This emotional trauma led me to start soul-searching and I became increasingly reclusive. I began to think and focus on what life entailed or the meaning of existence. My younger brother had been recently saved, and he suggested I attend gospel meetings at the local Gospel Hall in Singapore.
I decided to take my brother up on his offer and attend a gospel meeting. However, what I was hoping to receive was the opportunity to meet a new group of people and obtain some relief through the message they offered there. What I actually experienced was a much more thought-provoking time than the feel- good religion I had expected. The gospel message given was both loud and clear, and was absorbed by my seeking mind. The message emphasized in that first gospel meeting was that all sinners are going into destruction as a result of their sins. What I also noted was that, according to the Bible, there was nothing that I was able to do personally to avoid going to hell. After the third Sunday gospel meeting I had attended, a believer in the assembly approached me and asked if I would be interested in talking about God’s salvation. By turning to various verses, this believer brought out the consistent theme in all of them, the need of a Savior to enter Heaven. Among these portions of Scripture was the account of Lazarus and the rich man in Luke 16. What stood out in my mind was the “great gulf fixed.” I realized that no one could span this gulf but the Lord Jesus because He had paid the penalty of sin on the cross. With this realization came the connecting thought that the work had already been done. God had already given His only Son to die for all sinners, and, more importantly, for me personally so that I could be brought back to God.
In the year 1978, I trusted Christ as my personal Savior. Since that day I have been thanking God for the gift of His Son. Paul, the apostle, put it best when he wrote, “Thanks be unto God for His unspeakable gift” (2 Cor 9:15).
