Twenty years ago, Kenneth worked with Donald, a member of the Hong Kong Church of Christ, at a surveyor’s firm. Kenneth lived a life sharing many habits with men in the construction industry, including regular gambling and the occasional profanity.
In 2012, Kenneth’s wife, Ching, was baptized into Christ. Seeing that the church could serve as an effective moral compass for his daughter, Kenneth began attending church services, much to Donald’s surprise and delight. Donald, eager to tell his former colleague about God, initiated to study the Bible with Kenneth, but Kenneth only had a lukewarm passion for God.
For four years, Kenneth never fully committed to his church life. Not uncommonly would Kenneth’s discrete attendance to church be followed by another to a jockey club betting center in the afternoon.
In 2013, Donald’s job relocated his family to mainland China, where Donald actively served the local church. Last year, when he came back to Hong Kong, he found that Kenneth kept coming to church, so he was convicted to study the Bible with Kenneth once again.
However, Kenneth planned his last visit to the church on July 19, 2015. Having visited the church and studied the Bible half-heartedly for several years, Kenneth decided to put an end to his identity as an unenthusiastic visitor. Feeling uncommitted, he intended to confront the brothers about his departure right after the Sunday service.
But as God’s plan would have it, Kenneth was deeply struck by Steve’s sermon in that particular service about bearing the cross on one’s shoulders. At that very moment, Kenneth realized that, after all, he had been bearing nothing on his shoulders but his own sins! The farewell to the brothers never took place. That same night, he reviewed his 50 years of life in regret, and took his wife and his daughter on a walk in the park. He held their hands and burst into tears as he apologized for not being a good father and husband. He asked for their forgiveness and, in a shared prayer, God’s.
Kenneth renewed his Bible studies with a keen determination. Among many other actions he took, Kenneth reconciled with his two elder sisters, with whom he had held grudges against for many years. On the subject of marriage, Kenneth shared with them convictions that he got from studying the Bible and subsequently invited them to church.
At the same time, Kenneth came to realize that he was always struggling with a desire for wealth. Brothers in his Bible study challenged him to imitate the faith of Zacchaeus, to come clean and pure before God. Kenneth eventually made up his mind to repent. Not only did he stop gambling, but he started financially aiding 10 students in need in mainland China via HOPE worldwide. Upon realizing how his working environment would possibly lead him spiritually astray, Kenneth boldly quit his job without a second thought, all while preparing to contribute his part in the annual special contribution. By God’s grace, he found a new job merely a week after his resignation. Despite a substantial shrink in his paycheck, Kenneth was as excited as he was hopeful about a new start!
Given a second chance to lead a vibrant life, Kenneth now enjoys a marriage “sweeter than a honeymoon.” There had been much confession between the couple, of sins that were buried over the years, but with acceptance and forgiveness, they have persevered and prevailed. Meanwhile, Kenneth actively seeks to bond with his daughter, whether by writing cards and letters or by spending time together. Kenneth tells his daughter not to repeat the path he had taken, a path apathetic to sin. Having witnessed her father’s radical transformation, Kenneth’s daughter shed tears of joy, and has more than once given Kenneth a genuine “I love you so much.”
The change that Kenneth has undergone has greatly inspired married couples in their sector. Today, Kenneth lives the life of a godly man. He is dignified, strong, and brings hope to his household!