Lately a friend of mine raised a very good question for me that I didn’t quite know how to answer (till I talked to my dad of course): how do we bring back a prodigal son? In this case, that can also be a prodigal daughter, sister, brother, cousin, friend, etc. If somebody grew up on a Christian foundation in a godly home and turned away from God, how do we win them back? What can we say to them to turn them away from the dark side? Some may have more severe situations than others: drug, sex, abortion, prostitution vs. workaholics, love of money, atheism. It seems like if we say the wrong thing, it will push them away even more; the basic concept of reverse psychology I suppose. The more we pull, the more we push them further and further from the truth. But at the same time, we can’t just do nothing and let them fail. Do we simply wait for them to hit rock bottom and then come in with our message?

Well if you see somebody getting closer to a cliff, will you warn them to take a step back or just let them fall off the cliff? If you see a soul parked at the gate of hell and only one step away from it, will you bring them back to the light or just let their soul suffer for all eternity while enjoying your salvation? At this point, I think it’s clear that we have to, not that we should but have to, do something. What should we do? And even if we want to, can we really make a difference? Will it work? They won’t listen, so what else can we say? How much more and what more can we do?

When we start asking these questions, our heart is in the right place because we sincerely want to help them. But unfortunately, we ask the wrong questions. We can’t say anything in situation like this but we can do something about it. In other words, we can’t preach them back to the truth but we can love them back to the light. Don’t judge them on where they’re at but love them back to where they should be. Can’t preach them back, can’t scare them back, can’t present logic and evidence to win them back, can’t talk the senses to lure them back, can’t bribe them back, can’t promise them something to turn them back. But we can always love them back. That’s the power of true love; that’s the power of God’s love in us and through us. This love is the force behind Jesus coming down from heaven to save us. This love is the core of our salvation and hence the foundation of our faith. If this love is so big that it can defeat death and give us eternal life in the kingdom of God, then what else can stand before this kind of love? What limit does it have? What earthly force can say no and not bow down to this kind of love? Nothing, no force, no limit.

So the first step we should do to a prodigal son in our life is not preaching to them but simply loving them through all of this. Don’t meet up to tell them what a loser they are or what a mess they make. Meet up to get dinner, go to a movie, order pizza, share a cookie, joke around, go fishing, go bowling, play basketball, play soccer, dress up, wear makeup, watch YouTube videos, etc. The cookie and the soccer ball will open the door to the pain behind their decision to walk away. Then when that door is open, your prodigal son, you, and God all together can get to the bottom of the pain and fix the core of the problem. People don’t just sell their bodies for money for fun; no child dreams about becoming a thief. There’s a reason behind that decision to walk away. Most of the times, it involves a pain that’s too big to describe and too much to bear. Without knowing what that pain is, there’s nothing we can say to win them back. Without them opening their heart, there’s nothing we can do to turn them away from hell. But we have the power that Satan doesn’t have: the power of love. This is the unconditional, powerful, magnificent, pure, beautiful, overwhelming love through the Holy Spirit in Christ from the Heavenly Father. This sincere love can unlock any door to the bottom of the heart where pain resides and rules over. Then this same powerful love, once touches the heart, can break the pain with hope and faith that no demon can attack. It creates a shield of protection that Satan can’t even touch. It speaks the truth that no lie can withstand. And all of that starts not with great preaching, not with multiple Bible verses reciting, not with knowledge pouring out. That love starts with a small simple action of bonding, a cookie, a soccer ball. It starts with a simple question above all spiritual knowledge “hey do you want to hangout?” Becasuse that question means “I love you,” “I don’t care what everyone else says, you’re still my brother/sister/cousin/daughter/son,” “I care for you enough to make time for you,” “I put you above my schedule and other things in my life,” “I miss you and want to see you,” “you are a priority for me that I want to see you face to face.” The prodigal son doesn’t need anyone else to judge them, they already judge themselves inside, whether they admit it to the outside world or not. What they need is somebody to love them so that they can see and experience first hand, not hear about it, the love of God from this person who loves them regardless.

The salvation message can’t be preached without a strong foundation of understanding. Without the Old Testament, how can we possibly understand the preparation for the New Testament? Without the law, the history, and the prophets, how can we understand the unconditional love through the forgiveness of sin? Without acknowledging our past of what a wretched sinner we are, how can we fully accept the perfect Christ? The worst sinner of all can turn out to be the most faithful servant among all. Look at Paul, what a great example! So again don’t judge them on where they’re at but love them back to where they should be. God may do something extraordinary from this experience to turn an ugly past into a bright future of breakthroughs to glorify Him in heaven and earth. The gospel message didn’t come to me immediately the first time I heard it. I didn’t accept the gift of salvation the first time I was “preached” on. A foundation was built for me and in me before I took that first step to follow Jesus by accepting Him into my life. That foundation was built from multiple branches that come from the vine of Christ: my parents in Wisconsin, my theology teacher in high school, the church retreat in Saint Louis, the church we attended in Green Bay, etc. Church is not where our salvation is based on; our salvation is based on Christ alone. Church is simply a social club to help build that foundation to help prepare us and make sure we’re ready when the moment of decision comes.

An evangelist with a high success rate is not the one with great preaching talent or persuasive skill. That’s the lucky one who meets people who already have a strong foundation built prior to that moment of decision. When there’s no foundation, the message won’t stick because it’s like building something on sand, which will collapse eventually. So the gospel message shouldn’t be delivered as a single moment of impulse but should be treated as a journey, a process, with love and patience. Don’t just preach the gospel immediately, but love them through the journey first to build that foundation of understanding and then preach the gospel when the moment of decision comes, when the foundation is strong enough for the prodigal son to make the right choice. When all of these people built the foundation in me, I didn’t even have a clue. I was simply loved through all of this. But these evangelists knew what they were doing when they planted the seed in me. Not till later when the moment of decision came and I made the right choice that these people saw the fruit of their work. Throughout the process of laying down this foundation, nobody knew how I would turn out; they simply had patience on me and loved me through the journey. What a beautiful thing to serve God! What a love! A love that is so big, so powerful, pure, beautiful, unconditional, magnificent, that the world desperately needs but knows not of. What a God! So perfect, righteous, holy yet so merciful, patient, loving, full of grace and truth.

Our understanding of God and our level of faith depend on the breadth and depth of our relationship with Him. Breadth is the quantity of how much we want God and how strong our desire to be closer to Him is. Depth is our experience of and with God through trials and how much spiritual growth we have gained throughout the journey of life. The power of love can be explained in the same way: quantity and quality. Quantity of love is how much we love God and how much we want God. Quality of love is the application of this desire to follow Him and serve Him; it’s the fruit of the spirit, the action of the heart, the hand of the mind, and the result of our faith.

Recently I learned a big lesson about the quality of love in corporate world. Yes even in the midst of the storm, in the ugliest place of the human heart, God’s light still shines despite the lies darkness put on and the schemes Satan plans. In corporate world, it’s very common and even expected for one to steal credit from another. All of us have stories of how our bosses take our credit as their own to present to the C-suite. Of course our boss climbs higher and higher in the corporate ladder and we continue to do the lowly work that everybody needs but nobody knows about. At first I was very frustrated when this happened to me until I seeked wisdom from my dad. Instead of supporting me to remain angry at my boss, my dad said something so profound: I should be rejoiced instead! At first I didn’t understand but then eventually I got it. My boss takes credit from me because he is insecured with his job. He can only rely on himself and the mercy of the executive to keep this job. The financial burden on him is also a lot more than me. He has a mansion; I live in a small apartment. He drives a fancy car; I have my 11-year-old Ivan. But I have something much much much better and way more valuable that he doesn’t have: I have GOD. I don’t rely on myself or anyone else to keep my job. Even better I rely on the Most High God. This is the God that parted the Red Sea for the Israelites; this is the God that gave Goliath into the hand of David; this is the God that raised Christ from the death; this is the God that moved the heart of a bunch of weak, hopeless men with His Spirit to change the world and spread the gospel. So from that logic, if He really wants me to keep this job, who would dare to say no to Him? Who would have the power to take this gift away from me?

Jesus taught us “so when you give to the needy, do not announce it with trumpets, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and on the streets, to be honored by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full. But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your giving may be in secret. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you” (Matthew 6: 2-4). So that gave me an idea: what if we extend the application of this lesson to more than just giving? What if we apply this message to corporate world? So instead of being angry about my credit got stolen from me, I decided to voluntarily give my credit to my boss. I got on my knees and prayed to God that if this is His will, He would use me to make this poor man feel more secured in his job and be more happy in his life. Insecurity leads to worriness, worriness leads to anxiety, anxiety leads to anger and frustration, which when have their full effect, can destroy a family. I don’t want to see that happen to anybody because I experienced first hand how it destroyed my family. If he wants the credit that bad, why not let him have his reward? I don’t lose anything. And I already have my reward, a bigger better everlasting reward from above, the kind of reward the world desperately needs but knows not of. God knows my heart; He will reward me for my obedience to Him. But even if He doesn’t, that’s still ok too because I already have the reward: I already have Jesus, the rock of my world, the foundation of my faith. In corporate world language, if I already have a Mercedes, why would I be angry or jealous of somebody else’s Corolla? I might as well give him my Corolla because what I have is already much better with higher value. If I already have my reward from the God of heaven and earth, I might as well give him the tiny little credits from the world. So my dad was right; I should be rejoiced. I’m joyful and peaceful with this decision.

On the surface it may seem to be unfair, but that’s only temporary at the moment. Eventually the truth will come out. “Fire tests the purity of silver and gold, but the Lord tests the heart” (Proverbs 17:3). So if I’m the gold, why should I be afraid of fire? Instead I should be rejoiced because the fire will help me shine, prove my worth, and speak the truth about my identity. Using the same concept, I should rejoice and thank God for trials because every trial I receive is one step closer to Him. It’s hard to go through trials at the moment of the test, but the view on the other side is so much worth it. God is worth it, and being closer to Him, even just as small as an inch closer, is still worth it.

The trials of my life have brought me closer to Him and confirmed my identity in Christ. My faith has grown in way I could have never imagined. If I had never gone through the loss of my mom, the bankruptcy, and multiple times near deportation, I would not have had the kind of faith and courage I possess today. I probably would not have even known God. And I wouldn’t trade God and our relationship for anything, not even for my mom or to get my family back. Why? Simple, He’s worth it! “Anyone who loves their father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; anyone who loves their son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. Whoever does not take up their cross and follow me is not worthy of me. Whoever finds their life will lose it, and whoever loses their life for my sake will find it” (Matthew 10: 37-39). The process is very simple: Jesus told me to give up everything to follow Him. I said ok, took my cross, and follow. He says go to the left, I go to the left. He says go to the right, I go to the right. He says run, I run. He says fight, I fight. He says stop, I stop. He says wait, I wait. It’s not easy. Sometimes I get frustrated and just want to run away. Most of the times I complaint. Sometimes I even fight Him, which is bad for me anyway at the end. But through all of this, I didn’t put down my cross. I continue to take my cross; I continue to fight the battle; I continue to follow; I continue to love Him regardless. At first when I don’t get what I want, I always get frustrated and angry at Him. But then later on, I realize that it’s such a GOOD thing that He didn’t give me what I asked for. If He had let me win the lottery in the past two years, the green card process would have been delayed. If He had given me the job I settled and asked for, I wouldn’t have had this amazing job I do now.

In Luke 16, Jesus taught us about a shrew manager of how people of this world will know this world and play the game much better than us. To put it in today terms, they are at the PhD level of manipulation, lying, cheating, deception, lust, dishonesty, gossiping, back stabbing, and hence money making, whereas we as disciples of Christ are at the kindergarten level of all of the above. But what good is it to lose the soul and gain a bunch of zeros in the bank account or paper with dollar sign on it? There’s nothing wrong with money, but it’s wrong to put money above God; it’s wrong to play the game by the rule of this world; it’s wrong to climb the corporate ladder with a heartless mindset; it’s wrong to live our lives by the standard of man instead of the standard of God; it’s wrong to treat people by the selfishness and greed of the heart rather than the love of God. Money is fine, but the love of money is not. It’s the root of all evils.

“But if you harbor bitter envy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not boast about it or deny the truth. Such “wisdom” does not come down from heaven but is earthly, unspiritual, demonic. For where you have envy and selfish ambition, there you find disorder and every evil practice. But the wisdom that comes from heaven is first of all pure; then peace-loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial and sincere. Peacemakers who sow in peace reap a harvest of righteousness” (James 3: 14-18). The wisdom of this world is the status quo expected in corporate world. That’s the same wisdom the shrew manager used in Luke 16 to earn his profit gain. The wisdom of God is the opposite. It’s by His standard, not man’s standard. It’s by his level of faith, not man’s corporate ladder. It’s based on love, not selfishness and greed. If I run a business school, everybody, regardless of their major, must learn the story in Luke 16 first before we can talk about other things in business. Without a solid foundation, all of the business achievements become meaningless and even harmful. That foundation is built upon Jesus Christ, the rightesous man of God, the Son of God, and God Himself in the flesh. Though none walk with me, still I will follow. If I’m the only one playing by His rule, I keep playing and staying in the game living by His standard. If I’m the only one carrying the cross, then ok that’ll make my shoulders stronger I suppose. No matter the cost, I just want to be with Him. If losing the world means gaining Him, I get a really good deal out of this then.