Maria Story

By: Karen Lao & Ian Reid

One of the greatest pleasures in being Christian, is the sense of purpose that you have. At any moment an opportunity to do God’s work can arrive.

About a month ago our teenage friend, Maria, started to ask me some questions. They started with the familiar questions that teenagers ask; like, why are some people more popular than others? And what is the point of school? I recognized that these questions were going to lead to larger questions; and that all I had to do was be patient, don’t push her to talk, and most importantly: pray.

I am blessed by God to be surrounded by so many nice people; however, sometimes I regret that I don’t have enough time for each one. Each person wants to be loved and listened to. My girlfriend Karen and I try our best to listen, but we know that our best, is very little.

Of all the people that I have met, Maria is about the cutest. We met her one evening when we were volunteering in local mall. Each Tuesday and Thursday evenings, we meet at a junk-food restaurant, which we use as home base; and from there we take-up four tables were we teach English, write resumes, and do whatever else we can to help people. On top of this, we give-out Bible-tracts that we ourselves print.

When we approach the person, we say that we are Christian volunteers that care about people, and would like to help them. One evening I was sitting at a table talking to someone, when Karen arrived and introduced me to Maria, her mum, and her dad.

She was a very typical teenage newcomer from China: tall, Chinese style clothes, Chinese style hair, very shy, and with polite but uncomfortable eyes. Her expression seemed to say, what are we doing here talking to this white man? Almost all Chinese are polite and patient when I speak to them, and this family was no exception.

Our friendship has grown tremendously over the year and a half, and now the trust is enough for her to ask personal questions. Her initial question was, “Can a person be good without believing in God.” I’ve heard this question many times over the years, and it’s very difficult to give a convincing answer. When I answer “No,” then the person usually tells me a story of someone they know, or someone from history, which was good, but didn’t believe.

My answer is that good can have many definitions. For example, if a millionaire gives 10% of his salary to the poor, then he seems very good. After-all, ten percent of his salary can buy a lot of things for the poor. On the other hand, if a poor person gives 10% of his salary to the poor, then very little can be bought. The rich person’s donation makes him looks very good. The reality, is that it hurt him little to give that money; in fact he may have received a tax write-off for it. The poor person did hurt by giving his 10%, and yet nobody notices it. Good should not be defined by a number; rather it should be defined by the sweat that produced the result.

Sometimes, people act out goodness because they want to be praised by other people. Their goodness can be for selfish reasons; not out of a genuine concern for the poor. The Bible says that when we help the poor; it should be something very private; just between us and God.

A Christian tries to be good for a number of reasons. He wants to please Jesus; more than that, he wants to be like Jesus. Jesus is the Christians’ hero; therefore, he always wants to do what Jesus did.

The Christian realizes that he is being honoured by God, when he is given the responsibility to be good. The poor are very close to God’s heart; and therefore their suffering hurts Him. The Christian is God’s representative on earth; his job is to do God’s will. The smallest, most humble Christian, has the power to move mountains; because he trusts in God, and knows that anything is possible for Him.

The Christian knows that his goodness is a gift from God, and that he is part of God’s perfect plan. Through God’s power and wisdom; the believer is empowered to change lives.

A Christian’s goodness is different from that of the unbeliever, in that the Christian wants no praise or reward. His good acts are kept as secret from the world, and that his rewards are that he has brought honor to God.

A non-believer is usually good to people that he likes, or to people that deserve his help. The real Christian helps everyone, regardless of whether they are good or bad; deserving or non-deserving; Christian or non-Christian. The Bible says, “Love your enemies…If you love those who love you what reward will you get?” (Matthew 5:44). As Christians, we don’t expect to be thanked by our enemy when we help him. Frequently, he hurts us even more when we are good to him; others see us as being strange when we are continually good to a bad person.

Maria is at the age where she wants to find what her purpose is. Her dream is to go to Yale University, and make her parents proud. We are so honored to be part of her growing-up, and one day Karen and I will be at her graduation.

That’s the future, but now, she lives in a world that is shallow, materialistic, and empty. The non-Christian world sends her the message that to “Fit-in,” you have to think of yourself and yourself only. The individual is number one; the needs of others fall far behind. What label you wear, and how much your car costs; is what defines you. The media shows Maria a world that is polluted, through greed, and at constant war. People walk through their lives as strangers…suspicious and lonely.

God’s plan for Maria is to have her concentrate on loving her family and friends; in getting through University, and finally in bringing God’s love to whatever life she chooses.

When I initially knew her, she was a typical kid; with no interest in God. Now, she’s asking the right questions; and starting to believe.

In yesterday’s phone call she said that she had confidence to start believing in God, because she trusted Karen and I: What an honour for us! She asks me why I believe and I say that there are millions of reasons; and – there are no reasons.

I tell her this story. Thousands of years ago before the world even started; God wanted to create and love her. Thousands of years after God’s decision; she was born, in a hospital in China. A tiny Chinese baby, just like the thousands of tiny Chinese babies that were born on that day. She grew up in China; where the government says that there is no God. Her parents decided to move to Canada where it is cold, on the other side of the world, and worst of all; speaks English.

They arrived, and two forces were at work in their lives: Good and evil. They had only been in Canada a week, and they didn’t know anybody; this could lead to loneliness, or worse. God stepped in, and just one week later, he introduced them to us. Maria now had something solid – something real.

Every Tuesday and Thursday our volunteering goes on; and despite her busy school schedule, she still joins us.

Last night, I was with Karen, Te, and my friend Victor at Karen’s house, when Maria called. She was very afraid to ask questions because she thought that I might think her questions were stupid. Nothing could have been farther from the truth: I was thrilled to be able to talk with her. A Christian organization had given us sixty-four Bibles, and we had given them out to our friends. When we gave Maria and her mum a Bible each, we knew that we were planting something great; and I so much wanted to be around when the tree started to grow.

With her mother, the tree started to grow immediately. She started going to Church to learn English, and, of great happiness to us – about Jesus.

We tried a couple of times to encourage Maria to show an interest in Jesus; however, she was too young. Although her tree didn’t show any signs of growth; we weren’t worried, because we knew that God does things in, His time, not ours. The roots were growing slowly into the soil, even though I couldn’t see it, as each month passed.

We always invited Maria to our picnics, dinners, and parties; moreover, Te and I make it a point to tease her on the phone whenever we can. I am so happy to see her growing into a responsible young lady; moreover, I know that the spiritual side will soon follow.

We give out hundreds, sometimes thousands of Bible tracts each week; and Maria always takes a huge number of them with her. To have a teenage girl, who isn’t even Christian, give out Bible tracts; is just another example of God’s majesty. I tell her that 98% of the tracts that we give out end up in the garbage; however, 2% of people take the tracts home, and contact us. They tell us that they are sad, feel confused, or don’t want to live. This is the first step in our process of helping God’s people.

Instinctively, Maria knows that she is part of this. A small girl is bringing love to sad people.

She’s in the first unsettled part of her life. As a teenager she’s neither child nor adult; yet she is supposed to act an adult part. She has friends that are already getting into bad things, and as a young girl, there are many temptations all-around her. Never mind; she has God.

Karen and I make Maria understand that she is important to God. God sent Karen, Te, and I to Maria to walk beside her as she grows up. One day she will be Christian and the path of goodness will continue.

I look up in the black night sky. I look past the dark, past the stars – past time itself; and there’s heaven. It’s there. I will be there, so will Karen, Te, Victor; loud-Rachel, and Maria – so will you.