Conversion Factor

I heard a sweet little story tonight from my mom about how an old lady at her church became a Christian. People who aren't cool with Jesus, you don't have to read this story, but I don't really see why not. I'm not proselytizing, I just think it's a neat story.

Most old Chinese Christians at our church are recent converts who started coming to church because of their grown sons and daughters, who became Christians when they came abroad for graduate school. Communist China isn't the most conducive place to adopt a religion. This old lady, however, has been a Christian for decades, which I find fascinating. How did she hear about Christianity? How did she live through all these years?

When she was younger, she was a member of the communist party. Now, people, I don't know how well you understand these things, so I'm sorry if you already know this, but not everyone in China is a party member. In fact, not everyone can become a member. You have to be really hardcore and accomplished. People from problematic class backgrounds, for example, could not join the party. This lady joined the Communist Party at a young age, right when the People's Republic was developing and the Communist Party was beginning its work of shaping China. She really believed in the Party and was proud of her membership.

At the same time, there was a Christian man in her work unit and she noticed that he was a good man. He never took advantage of people and always worked very hard. This man, she thought, was so good that he deserved to be a communist. So she tried to get him to join the party and spent a lot of time trying to get to know him. And the more she learned about him, the more impressed she became. He was even better than a communist, she thought, because even they slacked off once in awhile and used their positions for their own good. But he never did. In fact, she thought the man was so good and upstanding that she stopped trying to convert him. He didn't need the party to keep him in line, she thought, he already had something. So instead, she tried to be like him. And that's how she converted. Later, they got married. Then the Communists started cracking down and started their different movements. And they both took a lot of crap for being Christians, especially during the Cultural Revolution. But they were also lucky because people trusted their goodness and they lived through the ordeals and persecutions. How strange and awesome a story is that?