After Losing My Status

By Huimin, Henan Province

Every time I saw someone who had been replaced as a leader and them feeling down, weak or sulky, then I looked down on them. I thought: “It was nothing more than different people doing different work within the church, that there was no distinction between high or low, that we were all God’s creations and there was nothing to feel down about.” So whether I was watering new believers or serving as a leader, I never thought I focused much on my status, that I was that sort of person. I never would have thought in a million years that I would display such shameful behavior when I myself was replaced as a leader.

Some time ago, because I had not been performing any real work and was always preaching doctrine, my leader replaced me. At that time, I thought to myself: “Even if my caliber wasn’t made out to be a mid-level leader, I was still competent to fellowship about the truth and do the work of watering and supporting the church.” I never expected for my leader to task me with taking care of the general affairs of the church. I was surprised then, and I thought, “Such a mid-level leader as myself, am I now to be made to run errands? Anyone in the church who could run or who had a little intelligence could do this job. Wasn’t getting me to do this job an obvious waste of my talents?” But I was afraid that my leader would say I was disobedient and that I cared about my status, so I forced a smile and agreed. But as soon as I got home, I fell flat on the bed and felt awful. “Since I have no status, what will my brothers and sisters think of me? Now I am only running some errands, how will I ever be able to have my day again?” These thoughts filled my head. The more I thought about it, the more awful I felt.

I Have Seen My True Colors

By Xiaoxiao

Due to the needs of the church’s work, I was transferred to another church, which was in a frail state, to fulfill my duty. At the time, the gospel work at that place was at a low ebb, and the states of brothers and sisters were generally not very good. But because I was touched by the Holy Spirit, I still took on everything that I was entrusted with, full of confidence. I would get up early and stay up late every day, busying myself in the church so that I could do my work well. After a period of time, the church’s work was taking a turn for the better. Seeing this, I couldn’t help but become quite self-satisfied. I felt that I was all right, that I really took on a burden in fulfilling my duty, and that I was full of the enlightenment of the Holy Spirit. I felt that I was full of courage and resolve in my work. I believed myself able to perform the job well. I was living mired in self-satisfaction and self-admiration.

The Orchestration of God’s Hands: A Different Experience of Job Seeking (Audio Essay)

Liang Xin

In today’s society, there are all different kinds of major enterprises and there seems to be a myriad of employment opportunities, but year after year, college graduates are a dime a dozen. The market of qualified employment candidates is so overcrowded you can’t gain a foothold, so the difficulty of finding employment after graduation has become a very practical problem. For every young person on the cusp of entering society after school, the most headache-inducing issue that they have to face is finding work, particularly at a good company. Everyone puts on their best face and racks their brains trying to squeeze their way in—the competition and pressure are intense. I, approaching graduation, had no choice but to face the plight of finding a job just like everybody else. The only thing different about me is that I’m a Christian and I believe that everything is prepared by God. However …

A Restaurant’s Harvest (Audio Essay)

Ming Zhen

Cong Xin worked as a waitress in a restaurant, and she had always been a conscientious worker. But for some reason, the manager had recently started to lose his temper with her indiscriminately. Ever since she was small, Cong Xin had always wanted to excel and to do her best at everything she did, and even her stepfather very seldom spoke ill of her. But now she had to face the restaurant manager who was purposefully making things difficult for her. So many times, Cong Xin had wanted to get into a blazing row with him, but when she thought of how she was a believer in God and that she must be someone with humanity and reason, she would realize that she could no longer act however she wished, as she had done before she believed in God. Therefore, whenever the manager got angry at her, Cong Xin prayed in her heart: “O God! You permit this current situation to happen, and I pray that You keep me from getting hot-blooded, and from doing anything that brings shame to Your name or that makes me Satan’s laughingstock.” After praying, her heart would become a little calmer.

Christian Life: How to Educate One’s Child and Be a Happy Parent

By Huiyuan, Malaysia

“Over these past few weeks, your son has listened very carefully in class and is a very sensible boy. He’s like a totally different person to how he used to be. How come he’s suddenly changed so much? How are you educating him at home?” Hearing the teacher say this, I smiled slightly, and my heart was filled with gratitude to God. That my son could change as much as he has is the result of God’s work, and I give thanks to God! I always failed before when trying to educate my son, but then I had the fortune to accept God’s work of the last days and, under the guidance of God’s words, I finally understood how to educate my son, and I became a happy parent.

My Naughty Son Drove Me to My Wits’ End

Over the previous few years, I saw many parents spoil their children, which led to their children becoming more and more unrestrained and reckless. Therefore, after I got married and had children, I said to myself: “There is no way I’m going to spoil my children. I will definitely be strict with them, keep their behavior to acceptable norms, and get them to develop good habits right from the start!” But my eldest son was very naughty, and he had many bad habits. For example, he would often ride on the escalator handrail and slide from the top to the bottom, he would willfully break things in the home, throw rubbish down wherever he wanted, and he was a fussy eater, and so on. To combat these problems, I drew up a plan to educate him: Whenever he was being fussy with his food, I would reprimand him, and then he wouldn’t dare be fussy anymore; if I saw anything in life that I thought would be beneficial to his upbringing, then he had to do what I said. If he didn’t, I had my own way to control him and would let him know what the consequences would be if he was disobedient … I made every effort to educate my son, but there was little change in him. This was all a big headache for me.