Four years ago, the owner of a Chinese restaurant across from our Zion was changed. I wanted to deliver the words of truth to a new neighbor, but since he said he wasn’t interested in religion, I just briefly said hi to him.
At the end of 2018, I visited him again after the New Jerusalem Preaching Festival was proclaimed. When he heard the truth, he wasn’t that interested like before, but I continued to see him. I was worried I might disturb his business, so when he wasn’t busy and came out of his restaurant to be refreshed, I just took him to Zion and delivered the truth.
We may use the expression, “Many drops make a flood,” in this situation. The more I preached to him, the more questions he asked me. The Bible studies got deepened, and ultimately he received a new life after hearing the truth for four months.
After being born as a child of God, the brother was very passionate about serving brothers and sisters as well as studying the Bible. He brought food sent from his hometown to the church to share with us, and when he cleaned the entrance to his restaurant in the morning, he swept all the way to our Zion entrance. It was delightful to see the brother diligent in all things. I was truly grateful to God.
One day, he asked me an unexpected question:
“Why couldn’t I hear the truth for four years, although it was so close to me?”
At that moment, I couldn’t give him any answer. Even after I came home, his question continually rang in my mind. No matter what I said, I felt like it was just an excuse. I couldn’t change the fact that I left God’s child alone who was in front of me for four years due to my own thoughts and judgment.
Nowadays, when I see him think about how to deliver the truth to his family and friends, I feel sorry even more. If I had delivered the truth when meeting him for the first time, he would have found more heavenly family members by now.
“Preach whether they listen or fail to listen” (Eze 3:11). “Man’s thoughts are different from God’s thoughts. So throw away your own thoughts” (Isa 55:7–9). These are the Bible verses that I’ve seen and heard a lot until now. I also often showed these verses to the brothers and sisters. I taught them to put the Bible verses into practice, but I myself didn’t. Come to think of it, I feel so ashamed of myself that I can’t even lift my head. From now on, I will regard the words, which I used to enlighten other brothers and sisters, as my life motto and put them into action.