小強是臺北教會幼年班的小朋友，平時活潑好動。他在家中，上有爸爸媽媽、哥哥姊姊，他是老三，下面還有一個可愛的小弟叫他「二哥」。
Xiao Qiang belonged to the True Jesus Church in Taipei, Taiwan, and he attended the children’s Religious Education Elementary 1 class. He was a friendly and outgoing boy. He belonged to a family of six and had three siblings: an older brother, an older sister, and an adorable younger brother who always called him “Big Bro.”
一九七五年（民國六十四年）的一個安息日，下午的聚會已經結束了，大人們一個個都回家去了。這時，愛主的小強，看到年紀快八十歲的燕伯在打掃會堂，小強便自動地幫忙打掃工作。
One afternoon in 1986, after Sabbath services were over, everyone at church soon went home. Only one elderly 80 year-old member, Brother Yan, was still cleaning the chapel by himself. Seeing that he was working alone, Xiao Qiang thoughtfully volunteered to stay behind to help old Uncle Yan to finish cleaning the church.
地掃了一半，眼睛明亮的小強，看到地上有一個圓圓的小銅板，原來是一塊錢，他想到有錢可以買零食，便偷偷地拾起來，放進自己的口袋。地掃完了，他就跑到外面，用那撿到的一塊錢買零食吃了。
While sweeping the floor, Xiao Qiang suddenly spotted a small round coin on the floor. It was a one dollar coin! (Back then, one dollar was a large amount of money.) Thinking he could buy some snacks later with the dollar, he quietly slipped it into his pocket without telling anyone. After he finished cleaning the church, Xiao Qiang quickly ran out to buy snacks with the money he had found and enjoyed himself very much.
小強回家後，當天晚上就發高燒，爸爸媽媽以為是感冒，禱告後，只好帶他去洪醫師（主內弟兄）那裏打針、吃藥。
But in the evening when he came home, Xiao Qiang developed a fever. His parents thought he had caught a cold and prayed for him. Then they took him to see the doctor for some medication and an injection. That doctor was Dr. Hong, who was also a True Jesus Church member.
第二天，小強身上還是一陣冷、一陣熱的很難受。小強告訴媽媽：「我喉嚨好痛！」原來他的扁桃腺也發炎了。媽媽帶著小強來來會堂找侯傳道按手禱告；但是到晚上病還是沒有好轉。爸爸媽媽再禱告，然後帶他去喉科醫生那裏檢查、看病，他清洗了喉嚨後，又拿了兩天份的藥回來吃。
The following day, Xiao Qiang still felt terrible! He was shaking with the chills one minute and then feverish the next minute. He cried and moaned to his mother, and said, “My throat hurts so much!” His tonsils had become inflamed. His mother was very concerned and thought it would be best to take him to the church so Preacher Hou could pray for him and lay hands on him. Even after the prayer, Xiao Qiang did not get any better. His parents continued to pray for him and then finally even took him to see an Ear, Nose and Throat specialist to examine and clean his throat. The doctor prescribed two days of medication for Xiao Qiang to take home and then they left.
「奇怪！藥都吃完了，病怎麼會一點都沒有好轉。到底為什麼？」小強的爸爸心中直打轉，想來想去，主耶穌讓他想到了。爸爸想，對了！這孩子平時有點頑皮，會不會是上星期的安息日下午幫燕伯掃地時，撿到錢，不放入奉獻箱，自己偷偷拿去花掉？如果沒有其他原因，按過去幾次經驗，生病請傳道按手一定會好的。而且看過兩位醫生，按常理，小病不會拖這麼久的，其中一定有什麼緣故。
However, Xiao Qiang did not get any better even after finishing the course of medication. This was strange. His father did not understand why Xiao Qiang was not getting better. ‘What is the cause of this?’ he wondered. Then the Lord Jesus helped his father figure out the reason for his sickness. His father knew Xiao Qiang could be quite naughty at times. He wondered whether Xiao Qiang picked up some money in the chapel when he was helping uncle Yan with the cleaning the previous weekend. If instead of putting the money he found in the offering box, he secretly went and spent it, this might explain why he had not gotten better. From past experience, normally a cold would get better pretty quickly after the preacher lay hands on him and prayed for him. In addition to this, he had seen two doctors, had some medical treatment and even taken some medication to cure his cold. This was not an ordinary illness. There must be something more to this than meets the eye. God must have his reason for allowing him to continue to be ill.
爸爸叫小強來，責問他：「要坦白告訴爸爸，小強！星期六掃地時，你有沒有撿到錢？」小強不敢說實話，他撒謊：「我沒有。」爸爸說：「既然沒有，為何禱告、看醫生、請傳道按手都沒效呢？你想想看，做錯什麼事了？」
Xiao Qiang’s father asked him, “Son, be honest with me. When you were sweeping the floor at church last Saturday, did you pick up any money?” Xiao Qiang was afraid to tell the truth so he lied, “No, I didn’t.” His father said, “If not, then why have you not recovered yet from your sickness? Even after seeing the doctor twice and having the preacher lay hands on you, you have not gotten better. Think carefully. Maybe you did something wrong?” Xiao Qiang did not say anything.
第四天，看見小強的病還沒好，中午又帶他去看耳鼻喉科醫生。檢查後，醫生卻說：「怎麼沒好？扁桃腺反而腫的更大，真奇怪啊！平常看一次就很容易好了的。
Four days later, Xiao Qiang was still very sick. His parents took him to the Ear, Nose and Throat specialist again. After examining him, the doctor asked, “This is very strange! Why didn’t you get any better? Instead of getting better, your tonsils have actually become even more swollen! Usually people get better after just one visit to our clinic.”
回到家，爸爸再問小強一次，他仍不承認。爸爸生氣了，拿起棍子要打他。這時小強害怕了，才一五一十地將他做錯事的經過說出來。
After going home, Xiao Qiang’s father asked him again to think about what he may have done wrong. But Xiao Qiang was afraid to confess anything. His father suspected that Xiao Qiang was hiding something and finally had to resort to threats of punishment to make him talk. Finally, Xiao Qiang admitted his fault and confessed his mistake.
爸爸一本正經地說：「既然是這樣，不用再吃藥了。白白花掉許多冤枉錢，你生病難受，爸媽也一起跟著你受苦。」
After listening to Xiao Qiang’s story, his father took a very serious tone with him. “If that’s the case” he said, “then you do not need to take any more medicine. We have wasted a lot of money on this, which could have been avoided. You have suffered this illness for what you did, and your mom and I have suffered along with you.”
媽媽叫小強跪下來向主耶穌認錯，迫切禱告，求主原諒。小強知道自己錯了，心裡很難過，因為貪吃，用撿到的一塊錢，買零食，才會害苦了自己，同時也拖累了父母親。他跪下來，在主耶穌面前憂傷地悔改。聖經上記著，真神靠近傷心的人，拯救靈性痛悔的人（詩三十四18）。禱告後，小強站起來，真奇妙！小強發覺喉嚨的腫痛已經消失了，他這才明白「主所愛的祂必管教，又鞭打凡所收納的兒子。」（來十二6）
His mother told him to kneel down to confess his wrongdoing to the Lord Jesus Christ right away and pray earnestly for the Lord’s forgiveness. Xiao Qiang realized that he had done badly and was sorry. He had been greedy for snacks and ended up taking a dollar that did not belong to him to buy those snacks. This caused much hardship for himself and his family.“The Lord is near to those who have a broken heart and saves such as have a contrite spirit.” (Psalm 34:18) Xiao Qiang knew what he did was wrong and he knelt down to pray, with a contrite and repentant heart before the Lord. After the prayer, he got up and miraculously, the swelling in his throat was gone! At that moment, he realized that what the Bible says is true:“For whom the Lord loves He chastens and scourges every son whom He receives.” (Hebrews 12:6)
他立志要做個主耶穌所喜歡的乖孩子。隔天，爸爸給小強一塊錢，叫他拿去會堂奉獻，使他知道「在會堂裡拾到的錢或東西，不能放在自己口袋裡，應該還給別人，或放進奉獻箱裡。」小強這次生病，得到很好的教訓。
From that time forward, Xiao Qiang made a determination to be a good child and to please the Lord in everything he did.The next day, Xiao Qiang’s father gave him a dollar and told him to go to the church to offer it to God. His father taught him that if he ever found any money or anything at church, he should never put it into his own pocket. He should return it to the rightful owner or put it into the offering box. This lesson imprinted itself deeply in Xiao Qiang’s heart so that he would never take anything that did not belong to him.
民國六十六年正月，在忠孝國小擔任糾察隊的小強，已經是三年級的學生。有一天，他在馬路上旁邊維持秩序時，突然發現地上有一個漂亮的女用小皮包，打開來一看，裡面裝著錢，有新台幣一百三十元。他不再貪心了，因為主耶穌改變了他，小強把錢包交給的老師。
In January 1977, Xiao Qiang became a member of the school traffic patrol team at Zhong Xiao Elementary School. At that time, he was in the third grade. One day, while patrolling the side of a street, he spotted a beautiful leather purse by the side of the road. He opened the purse and found $130NT inside. This time, Xiao Qiang knew better than to take the money to go buy snacks. He was no longer greedy for snacks like he used to be, because the Lord Jesus had helped him to change already. He handed the purse he had found directly to the teacher.
幾天後的一個早上，朝會時，校長特別親自頒發「拾金不昧獎」給小強，表揚他誠實的表現，希望全校同學都效法他。校長又聲明，按民法的規定，半年後，如果沒有人來認領，這皮包就送給小強。
A few days later, during a morning assembly, the principal of the school personally awarded Xiao Qiang with a “Lost and Found Money Returned” certificate in recognition of his honesty and integrity. The principal hoped that all students could learn from Xiao Qiang and act with honesty and integrity. The principal further announced that if no one came forward to claim the purse within six months, according to the regulations regarding lost property, the purse would belong to Xiao Qiang.
小強在那麼多同學的掌聲中，跑回自己班上的隊伍裡，心中無比的快樂。放學回家時，他一面走一面跳，歡歡喜喜地回到家，將這榮譽獎狀拿給哥哥、姊姊和弟弟看，他們都好羨慕！爸爸媽媽心中充滿了感謝，如果不是上一次主耶穌親自管教小強，怎麼會有今天呢？一切都是主耶穌的保守和賞賜，使小強能改過自新，而且能榮神益人。小強很快樂地將那張獎狀貼在牆壁上，歸榮耀給愛他的主耶穌。
Xiao Qiang received the award and returned back to his seat amidst the applause of all the other students gathered in the assembly hall. Needless to say, Xiao Qiang was extremely happy. After school, he joyfully walked and skipped his way all the way home. Then, he proudly showed the certificate of honor to his siblings and they were all so envious! His parents’ hearts were filled with thanksgiving. If the Lord Jesus did not discipline Xiao Qiang the last time, Xiao Qiang would not have enjoyed such admiration and honor today. All credit and glory should be given to the Lord Jesus for his protection and his blessing. It was through God that Xiao Qiang changed his old ways to glorify God and benefit those around him. Xiao Qiang happily hung the certificate on the wall and gave all glory to the Lord Jesus who loves him.
（摘自宗教教育第73期9頁）
(Taken from Religious Education Publication, page 9 of Issue 73)
