All men can be criminals, if tempted; all men can be heroes, if inspired.[1]
Chapter 7
Jie Li’s Story
Jie Li and I have been friends ever since a visit I made to his country almost a decade ago. Introduced by a mutual friend, we found we had common interests and a bond formed between us. Our families have grown close over the years and he shared his story with me. That story, which I relate here, shows the lengths to which God’s Spirit will go to draw a person to the Lord Jesus.
Jie Li was a bad man. Even in the world of organized crime, where there are many bad people, Jie Li stands out. He rose through the ranks, eventually ending up in the number two position in his crime syndicate, which was among the most powerful in his country. Jie Li tolerated no weaknesses in his men, brooked no argument with his commands. He ruled with an iron fist, both at work and at home.
Jie Li often used physical force to batter his long-suffering wife. When not employing physical abuse, verbal and emotional abuse took center stage. His wife, a very pretty and hard working woman, was an embarrassment to him because she was a Christian. Jie Li believed Christianity was a crutch, not needed by those who had self-confidence, power, and determination. “A religion for superstitious old ladies,” he had once called it. Her refusal to stop attending services on Sundays, despite his increasing punishments, was a constant source of irritation to him. Her being a Christian also brought unwanted scrutiny from the government, as Christianity is viewed as a subversive influence in their country.
Jie Li would come to change his mind about the Christian faith through a dramatic series of occurrences. He awoke one morning and found that he could barely see. Everything appeared as vague, blurry shapes in a dark room. Jie Li went to many specialists but they were unable to diagnose what was happening or how to treat it. Over the next few weeks, his vision continued to deteriorate. His wife urged him to come to her church and have the members pray for his healing, but he refused. Finally, though, Jie Li was desperate enough to give prayer a try. In his profession, showing weakness was dangerous, as many people in his organization would seek to exploit it and usurp him from his position. He knew this first hand, because it was exactly how he had risen through the ranks, himself.
One Sunday he humbled himself enough to accompany his wife to a service at her church. Sure enough, the congregation consisted of mostly old women. Still, they gathered around him, laid hands on his head, and prayed. Jie Li felt embarrassed as well as skeptical but, at this point, he was ready to go anywhere that held out hope for a cure.
The next morning his eyesight was back to normal. As he exclaimed his surprise, his wife was overjoyed. She counseled him, telling him that since God had healed him, he needed to not only thank God, but to serve Him. She told him that God had proven His power and that Jie Li needed to become a Christian.
Jie Li was grateful to her God, but not willing to become a follower of Christ. He did relax his prohibitions against her going to church and started treating her nicer. It was the least he could do.
Months passed by and then, one morning, Jie Li awoke to total darkness. Unlike his earlier eye problems, this time he was completely blind. He panicked, knowing that there was no way to hide this ailment for very long. His wife scolded him, saying that this was God’s punishment for his stubborn refusal to become a follower. “God has withdrawn His blessings,” she said, “Because you did not give your life to Him after He showed Himself to you.”
Jie Li went to all the specialists again. Once again, they had no answers. In desperation, he asked his wife if she would petition her church for another prayer session. She surprised him by refusing. She said that she was worried. “Worried about what,” he asked? She replied that she was worried that if her church prayed and God healed him again, that he would once again refuse to become a Christian. She was afraid that God would then get angry and kill him for his stubbornness. “I would rather have a blind husband than a dead one.”
Jie Li knew from the tone of her voice that his wife was completely serious. After a few more days of agonizing, he told her that if her God healed him that he would become a Christian. It took a while to convince her that he was being completely serious. God’s Spirit had completely broken his hard heart, had shown him how helpless he was to control his own destiny, and held out an invitation to submit to God’s rule in his life. Jie Li was ready to worship a God he had ridiculed for years.
Once again, the church gathered and prayed for Jie Li. Once again, God answered their prayers. Jie Li regained his sight and, true to his word, he became a follower of Christ. His life completely changed. He became a loving husband and a good father. He left organized crime and became an evangelist, giving up a life of prestige and power to travel around the country sharing the life-changing gospel of Jesus Christ.
Jie Li started many churches with his wife serving faithfully alongside him. The number of lives impacted by this couple are too numerous to count. Jie Li’s heart worships God, just as God intended it to worship, thanks to the wonderful grace and mercy of God extended by the Holy Spirit to a man who was as bad as they come.
There is a man in the Bible who was quite bad, also. Saul was a person who was a very dangerous man. He was not above using physical force, punishments, and other methods to enforce his will. The Holy Spirit drew Saul to God in a similar manner to how He drew Jie Li. You can find the story in the Acts of the Apostles, chapters 8 and 9.
[1] G.K. Chesterton, Heretics
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