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Journeys of a Visitor (Part 2)
Gatekeeper in the House of the Lord
July 3, 2006

We timidly knocked on the door that had opened and closed on the church since the 1930's. A man, his back bent towards the ground, his pupils crossing slightly from eyes that were barely more than slits, opened the gate with a wide smile and ushered us into the church office. He seated us and offered us some hot Chinese tea. He then began to tell us his story of being given only four months to live when his doctors diagnosed him with cancer ten years ago. After receiving the news about his health, Mr. Zhang* returned home where he was bed-ridden. His believing wife once again, as she had done many times before, shared with him about the One who alone could bring him life. Once again, as he had done many times before, he rejected this One she spoke of. She began to cry as she considered the inevitable godless eternity that lay before her dying husband. Moved by her tears, Mr. Zhang began to think about life and death. He finally came to the conclusion that he could believe this Jesus who was willing to die to cleanse him. He believed and within weeks, his body was completely healed of cancer and the painful cramps he had endured in his stomach. He went back to the doctors and they asked him how he had been healed. He replied, "I believed in Jesus!"

We asked him more specifically how he had finally come to believe. He informed us that it was nothing that man did which caused him to believe, it was simply God's grace. He repented for his sins and then prayed to believe in Jesus.

A few weeks after his conversion, the gate-keeper of a nearby church told the pastor that the weather was too cold for him to continue to fulfill his task as the gatekeeper. The pastor asked Mr. Zhang if he would take the role of gatekeeper to the church. Although he was still somewhat weak, he prayed to God and asked for strength and endurance to perform the task of gatekeeper for the church. God answered Mr. Zhang's prayer that day. As a result, he has been the gate-keeper for the church for ten years now.

Mr. Zhang told us that he shares Jesus' story and his own testimony with almost everyone he meets. We asked him to explain how he shares Christ with those he meets. He smiled and explained that he would simplly tell people that everyone has sin, and even when others can't see it, God can. He would tell them that God is willing to cleanse them of their sin if they were willing to believe. With joy that only the Father can bring, he told us, "God saved me, so I want to tell everyone!" "If you didn't believe," he continued, "I was about to tell you!"

*Name Changed

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