May 3, 2010 - Joseph Guo

May 3, 2010

“So from now on we regard no one from a worldly point of view. Though we once regarded Christ in this way, we do so no longer. Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come! All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation.” (2 Corinthians 5:16-18)

I was born and grew up in China -- a mainly communist and atheist country. Before 1993, evolutionism occupied all my mind and thinking. Materialism shaped my American dream and mostly my value of life. "Only the fittest and toughest can survive” was the natural principle in my heart. As a result I tended to isolate myself from the community, not having close friends, and I was afraid of being hurt when interacting with others.

After I became a Christian in 1994, I learned that God is holy, just, and faithful. When I confess my sins, God forgives me and purifies me from all unrighteousness. God calls me to a holy life with his blessings and promises. Since then my life has been transformed day by day as I follow Jesus Christ in my daily life.

The changes begin with my knowledge and experiences of God which are gracious gifts to me through God’s self revelation, motivated by God’s unfailing love and unmerited grace for me. Through God’s prevenient grace that was present before my knowledge, I was given the opportunity to respond to it. Upon my response to this grace I experienced justifying grace, and continue to experience the sanctifying grace of God each day that my life continues.

I see myself as a sinner redeemed by the grace of God. I am no better than any other child of God who is trying to live a life after the example of Jesus Christ. Gradually I understand that the Church is a community of believers redeemed through Christ, in fellowship with one another, under the Lordship of Jesus Christ, empowered by the Holy Spirit, to share the grace of God with the world.

More changes followed in my life -- becoming more open to others and willing to grow and bear fruit for Jesus. I continue to offer my meager abilities to God, that He might find some way in His infinite power and majesty to use my efforts to bring others to Him or strengthen those who are already in Him. I left my first career as a chemical engineer in order to respond to God’s call to ministry. God called me and put in my heart the burden of sharing the gospel of Jesus Christ with the lost, the people in darkness and under the bondage of sin and evils, especially my fellow Asian Chinese who inherit the tradition of atheism and idolatry. It is my prayer that I am seeking to offer my life as a living sacrifice, hoping that God might use me in some fashion to God’s glory.

I cannot accomplish this task on my own. I accept fully what Jesus says, “Apart from me you can do nothing.” (John 15:5) My prayer is that God will work in me through his grace and the power of the Holy Spirit as I seek God’s guidance and direction. I offer myself as a servant leader, co-working with my colleagues in ministry. God changes me to become a person who enjoys being with people, whether they are in the church or not. I love to listen to people’s stories and to offer words of encouragement and suggestions that might bring benefit. I enjoy teaching and preaching.

Through my years in ministry God has also given me the gifts of compassion and hospitality. These gifts have allowed me to take part in the lives of my fellow Christians and non-Christian friends, through their joys and deepest sorrows. So I am able to assist others in connecting their life stories with God’s story and to reveal the love and grace of God present to them in their time of need. In my ministry I like to create a space that is both welcoming and inviting for new people and strangers to enter. This hospitality provides the opportunity to both share and receive blessings through God’s grace. As a minister this gift has proven valuable in leading congregants to welcome strangers into their church and perceive them as opportunities to receive blessings from God.
Praise be to God the Father, through the Son Jesus Christ!

Joseph Guo