My role models of inspiration are the most unusual people. Take Mr. Wang. He's my age – in his late 50s, and he lives near the city of Anshan, China – the People’s Republic of China. Mr. Wang is a polio survivor and, like me, a quadriplegic. To be honest, he's more paralyzed than I am. And his wheelchair? Well, you can't really call it that. It's just a small wooden cart fastened onto spindly wheels that have no rubber on the rims. His only caregiver is his 75-year-old mother – bless her heart, she's been taking care of her son for more than 50 years. You can guess that this mother and son duo live on the edge – they are very poor.
Earlier this year, Mr. Wang's elderly mother pushed him all the way to our Wheels for the World distribution in her city. She had heard her son could get a new wheelchair. When we took a look at Mr. Wang, we weren't sure who needed the chair most – him or his mother! Well, our Wheels for the World team – most of them from Eastern Pennsylvania – set about adjusting an adult-sized recliner wheelchair for this dear quadriplegic man. Within a few hours, he was set. And, oh, was his elderly mother one happy woman.
Most of all, the two of them were happy to receive a Bible and a Joni book in Chinese. Neither of them knew much about this "God of Joni," as they put it, but they promised they would read the materials we gave them. And that was just the beginning. Because Mr. Wang and his mother went home and actually did read the Joni book – when they discovered so many parallels between my situation and theirs, they decided to put their faith in the “God of Joni.” And that led to their interest in reading the Bible. Before long they got connected to a house church on the edge of their neighborhood – and now, both Mr. Wang and his mother have professed faith in Jesus Christ and they are regular attenders of that little house church.
Friend, a story like that inspires me. It’s like a modern-day example of John chapter 4 after Jesus encountered the woman at the well – remember that? The townspeople initially “believed in God because of the word of the woman who testified…" you know, kind of like the “God of Joni.” But then, after Jesus himself stayed with the townspeople, we read that, “many more believed because of His word; and they said to the woman, ‘It is no longer because of what you said that we believe, for we have heard ourselves and know that this One is indeed the Savior of the world.’”
Somewhere in Anshan, China lives a severely disabled man named Mr. Wang and his dear elderly mother. And neither of them has to worry about the future anymore, because they found Jesus. And he, praise God, is their future!
Used by permission of
JONI AND FRIENDS
P.O. Box 3333
Agoura Hills, CA 93176
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