The Incorrigible Cao

Cao* had a reputation for being selfish, lazy, jobless, and thoroughly unlovable. To put it another way: he was just the type of person whom Jesus came to save.

While our Global Mission pioneer team was familiar with Cao’s reputation, we never actually met him until some people asked us to use our positive influence to change him. So with their encouragement, we went to meet Cao and see whether he lived up to his reputation. Unfortunately, he did.

For two challenging years, we worked with Cao. Frustratingly, he was interested in our church activities only when they included meals. However, we knew that Jesus didn’t come to the world just for the loveable and the rich. As hard as it was, we knew that we needed to be the light of the world to Cao, reflecting Jesus’ teachings and the love-based principles of Christianity. So we welcomed Cao to our meals. We also told him that we had a weekly Bible study group with a meal! Cao happily joined.

Slowly but surely, we noticed a change in Cao’s heart. He began focusing more on the message from the Bible than on the food. He started to help us clean dishes after meals, and he also found a job and started working. Finally, he gave his heart to Jesus and accepted the Adventist message!

One day, we asked our church members to try giving Bible studies to non-Christians. Brother Cao was the first one to raise his hand to volunteer. Because of his bad reputation, he had trouble reaching people at first. However, he apologized for his previous behavior and shared how Jesus had forgiven him. With this testimony, Brother Cao had a great impact on our community.

Recently, Brother Cao made three new friends and brought them to a Bible study group. He continues to share Jesus’ stories and encouraging Bible messages with others in our community. Please pray that Jesus will fully use Brother Cao and our other church plant members to expand His kingdom.

* Name has been changed.