How I was saved
As a traditional Chinese, I was born in a Buddhism/Taoism/Confucianism background in Taiwan. Taiwan is definitely not a place where God is lifted. Many gods are worshiped, folk believes are deeply rooted in the society, and Buddhism and Taoism have overwhelming influence in the country. And I grew up in a very traditional family, surrounded by these ideologies.
In my high school years, I became interested in physics. I enjoyed the beauty of simplicity and harmony of the physical world discovered by those great physicists in history, and I became a believer of THE creator of the universe. Though I did not know who or what it is, I began to meditate on this subject and gradually grew apart from the ideologies that had shaped the first 20 years of my life.
My active and purposeful search of the maker and ruler of the universe began in my college years. The experience itself, as I looked back, is truly God's blessing, but in a very odd way.
I honestly did not know what I was looking for when I was in college. In my junior year, I was approached by a group of young people, mostly college students, some of them were even my friends in the University Choir. They gave me my first Chinese Bible as my 20-years old birthday gift, and invited me to take a series of bible lessons with them. I was really serious about it, and I read the Bible they gave me every night, and asked tough questions in the lessons. The questions were so tough that they had to upgrade the teacher for me. Now you might think: This is how Dr. Lee came to the Lord…
Unfortunately, that was not how things went. After reading Bible every night for a few months, and attending the lessons rigorously, I decided to leave this group. Because I found conflicts between what they taught and what the Bible says. I also found conflicts between what they claim to believe, and what they really believe. At the end of my college years, I learned from a friend who was once with this group that this group is actually a cult originated from South Korea. Sexual immoralities are common practice among their pastors and young female leaders. The leader of this cult claims himself to be the come-again Christ, and named this cult JMS (Jesus Morning Star), which is also the abbreviation of his Korean name.
Though I was disappointed by this group of people, the Bible did catch my attention after reading it every night for a few months. I gradually accepted the likelihood of the author of this Bible being the creator of the universe, if there has ever been one. However, I was discouraged by the impression of churches in terms of the relationships among denominations, and I did not attempt to go to any church in Taiwan.
After I came to the States, I thought churches here may be a little different. So I decided to give it a try and intentionally looked for an authentic Chinese Christian fellowship, which put their emphasis on Bible study, because I wanted to know more about the Bible. This fellowship experience is very important to me. I spent great amount of time with this group of people who love God’s Word so deeply that we had rigorous Bible study every week and everyone showed strong commitment and pleasure in God’s Word. More than just studying the Word, an atmosphere filled with God’s love by the people who seek and strive to live out God’s Word is evident in every gathering. This is why I came to the Lord just a few months later. As the Bible says: “Seek and ye shall find; knock and the door shall be open unto you.”
When I looked back, I know I am special and precious in God’s eye. I could easily be pulled away by the cult. Without knowing the inside dirty secret, they did appear to be a very attractive group of people. They were bright and joyful people, kind to others, friendly to strangers, and I had friends in this group. But even I did not know God then, God showed me the way, the way away from the cult. Just like the promise of the Word: “lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil.” When I finally came to Christ, I knew I am chosen, and I knew God did that in purpose!