TESTIMONIES OF CHRIST - JASON YIP

As long as I can remember, I have always been worried. Worried about my life, what people thought of my successes, failures, and me, and my family. I grew up in a home that was not very “Christian.” I am the oldest son in a Chinese family, which immediately places the stress to succeed into my life.

My father was also very verbally abusive towards my family. My sisters and I constantly fought over money and the littlest things in life. I took my mother for granted and made her my slave. Even though I went to church all my life I never followed anything from the Bible. My life was my life. I lived a life that was supposed to please me. Life was a competition and struggle, and I was determined to stand out on top..

I reached a very low point in my life around 16. The stress of worrying completely dominated my days and nights. I spent many sleepless nights thinking: “Would I get into a good college? Will I become the great doctor that is looked upon with prestige? Will my mother divorce my father? Will life collapse on me?” One day out of complete frustration, I cried to God, asking Him what I should do.

A pastor once told me that he hated new looking Bibles, because it shows that no one has read them. Well the Bible I received certainly looked pretty new for an age of 8 years. For the first time in my life, I decided to open the Bible and read it, thinking that perhaps the answers lied in there.

I had found answers no where else. Science provided no answers for me on how to save my family and get me into college. Friends had always failed my expectations. Nothing was left to depend on, but this book I had received when I was a child.

The passage that changed my life was in Matthew 6: 25-34. Jesus talks to the people telling them not to worry. WHAT? For the first time in my life, something had finally pointed out my problem. No one else knew what I was going through, and here was a passage that completely understood my problems.

The line that struck me the hardest was this, “So do not worry, saying, “What shall we eat? or “What shall we wear?” For pagans run after all these things, an your heavenly Father know that you need them.” I finally found out that I was no better than anyone else, constantly living for my own selfish purpose. All I did in my life was ask the question, “What shall I do?” God replied back with the line, “But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.”

From Matthew 6: 25-34, I learned everything I needed to about who this “God” was. I learn God loves me and that He will take care of me, through anything and everything. After reading this passage, I felt a tugging at my heart to explore other parts of the Bible. Everything Jesus said was amazing! I had never heard anyone tell me to love my enemies, that hate was murder in itself, and that I should treat everyone I meet as if they were my master and I the servant.

I did not become a Christian at that point in my life, but this is the origin of how I came to learn about Christ. When I finally accepted Christ into my life at the age of 17, life started to change. I still go through the tremendous struggles that I go through everyday.

Sometimes life is rougher being a Christian. But, I found life to be so much more joyful than what it was 4 years ago. Christ took away my burdens and my sins so that I would focus on loving Him, instead of worrying about my life. When I learned to love Him more, I learned to love others more than I could ever imagine. I learned to trust in Him, and when I did, God changed my life.

I no longer regard my mother as the slave I treated her as. I love her so much now because I realize God provided me with such a wonderful person. My sisters and I no longer fight either (they became Christians as well). We communicate well now and treat each other with the same love Christ showed us.

I have every reason to hate my father. He is one of the reasons why I was so worried about my life and he was the one that was tearing my family apart. I have no hate for him, but grateful love, because I know that God is in control. I constantly pray for him every night that he would love Christ, as I have, so that he may have joy. My life, though constant in struggles, is a life of fulfillment now. I no longer view life as the “survival of the fittest,” but a continuous search for the lost people who do not know Christ.

I no longer live for my own selfish purposes, I live for Christ because Christ died for me. I can never pay Christ back for changing my life, but I will live for him from now on. I still worry on occasions because I am not perfect. But God is so good in reminding me that He is in control of my life that I have nothing to fear.

On a less serious note, I wanted to relate a quick story to you. I went home for vacation after school was over a couple of months ago. My little sister, a Christian now, insisted I visit her new church. So one day I went for a visit.

An old friend of mine from high school was there. When he saw me we started talking a little. What was amazing was that at the end of our conversation, he proclaimed to me, “Jason, you are so relaxed now, what happened to you? You use to be so worried and stressed that I could feel it from you every time I talked to you. Now you look so much better, what happened?”

With that in mind, I thank you for your time. I want to leave the challenge of reading the Bible up to you. I read it as a non-Christian and it changed my life completely. If anyone of you out there is a believer, please lift up some prayers for my father. I hope that your search for true joy takes you to where I end up, in the arms of Christ.

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