The Faces of Lord Jesus Christ and Buddha

By Ellen Wang
                                            
	This is a story I heard from a sister.

	My mother grew up in a Buddhist family.  When I was little, she often brought me to different temples to worship.  When she was busy setting up the offerings and burning incense, I would sneak inside the temple to watch various statues of gods.  I liked to watch Buddha's face the most.  He sat on top of a lotus flower smiling with one leg curled atop the other.  The faces of other statues looked grotesque and fearsome.  Some had their faces painted black.  Others were in red.  I did not like them at all.

	I remembered the year when my father was severely ill, that was when my mother became very passionate in her worship of Buddha.  From south to north she devoted her piety to various gods and prayed for my father's recovery.  A year later, my father died.  With great sorrow, my mother buried him. 

	My mother was a fragile and skinny woman.  She did not receive much education.  It was hard for her to assume the responsibility of raising the family and played the roles of both parents.  She went through so much hardship that no trace of smile could be seen on her face.  She always looked depressed because of the lingering sadness in her heart.

	She brought me to the temple frequently to express our sadness to the gods hoping to gain comfort from it.  Several years had passed and she still had not found peace.

	One day my mother unexpectedly brought me to a church.  After that first day in church, someone would come to visit us from time to time and talk with my mother.  We started to go to the service every Sunday.  She studied the bible and even knelt down to pray in the evening.  She asked me to kneel down and prayed with her.

	Gradually smiles returned to her face.  Later she was baptized and became a Christian.

	I really disliked kneeling down and pray.  One day I asked Mom why we did not go to the temple any more.  I wanted to see Buddha's face again.  I did not like the face of Jesus Christ.  Buddha was always smiling, but Christ's face always looked sad.

	She smiled and said that since my father's death there was no place to go but the temple to relieve her sad feeling to Buddha.  Although Buddha was always smiling every time she went to the temple, her sadness was never alleviated.  It persisted until one day a church friend came to visit and asked her to go to the church.

	Her friend said, "Jesus will listen to your suffering and share your sadness." My mother decided to give it a try.  She said that after she told Jesus all her sufferings, she raised her head and discovered that Jesus did not smile to her like Buddha did.  He looked very sad instead.  It seemed that Jesus was telling my mother He understood the suffering she had endured and wanted to share the pain with her.

        "Ma, how do you know He will share the suffering with you?" I interrupted her. "Jesus had said, ‘Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.'"  Mother replied. 

       "My daughter, didn't you see your mother is very joyful now?"  She continued

       I nodded.  "You are happy now.  But why does Jesus look so sad on the cross?"   I asked her again.

       "Jesus loves His disciples and His people.  He is sad when He saw His loved ones become content and may forget to fear God.  He also shares the sufferings with all who confess to Him.  He is the God who carries the burdens for His people every day.  His face and appearance look sadder and gloomier than the people of the world do.  He was despised, abandoned, endured much suffering, and worried a lot.  Indeed He carries our worries and sufferings with Him."   Mom fervently told me this message regarding Jesus.
I asked her again.  "Jesus is God.  Why then was He crucified on the cross?"

       "He was arrested and beaten to redeem our sins. The beating removed the sin of His people.  He sheds His blood on the cross so that our lives can be saved.  The righteous will replace the unrighteous."  Mom said.

	Let us think for a moment.  Jesus loves His people deeply.  Won't it hurt him when His people sin again?  Jesus always cares for and shares suffering with us.  His face does not show smile because his smile has been given to those who confess their sufferings to Him.  He shoulders the pain of His people and gives the peace and joy to every one who believes and trusts Him.

	Now I have become a Christian.  My own mother and I have also experienced similar story as above.  Thanks to God for choosing me to be His follower.  I thank Him for accompanying me and walking with me in my life, comforting me when I am sad, and telling me that He also suffers when I suffer.  Ah!  He is indeed a true and loving God.  He is the only God.