Editor's note: Wen Qin, a blind pastor, is a real person. He is a pastor in a small church in a rural area of Northern Jiangsu. Though he is blind, he knows the Bible well, and on Sunday he would explain it to the faithful. When I offered to give the shepherd some money, he refused and said to me, "God's grace is enough for me, and I am thankful. Please give the money to those who need it more." Later, I bought him an audio player so he could listen to the Bible being read. This time, he gladly accepted. "This is exactly what I need to help me in my spiritual life," he told me.
It is a village church, small and shabby. Most believers are elderly, pastored by Wen Qin, who is in his 50s. His wife died, and he lives with his daughter. Wen was born blind. The subsistence allowance Wen Qin receives is about 200 yuan per month. He owns more than 1 mu of land, which is cultivated by his sister Wen Lan. That’s all the income he can receive.
Wen Qin eats only fried cabbage and fried pancakes. He often wears patched clothes. With such simple living conditions, he never expects to live an extravagant life, because his heart is filled with another kind of concern, that is, the ministry of the church and the inner life growth of the believers.
The mother-in-law of Yu Zhen has an irascible temper and an insolent disposition. Yu Zhen often complains and cries in church. When everyone blames her mother-in-law, Wen Qin would say to her, "Forgive you mother-in-law and pray for her."
Yu feels he is not kind enough and can not understand her feelings. However, Wen is still waiting in prayer, waiting for her, who is like his daughter in his eyes. He wants her to become stronger, and the strength in his eyes is the forgiveness and love that he has always emphasized.
He keeps praying -- "May God grant Yu Zhen a forgiving heart."
Aunt Xiu Hua's son was addicted to online games. Aunt Xiu was in despair and often cried.
Wen said to her: "Don't be sad. Believe that the child has a good heart. Please raise your hands and pray. God will mind a suffering mother's tears. Please believe that after prayer, there will be a miracle, maybe tomorrow."
Faced with the ugliness and darkness of society, he was in great distress. He also cried out for justice and denounced evil.
But in the lectern, he also read words from the wall of the Children's Home founded by Mother Teresa. “People are unreasonable, illogical, self-centered; Love them anyway. If you are kind, people may accuse you of selfish, ulterior motives; Be kind anyway. If you are honest and frank，people may cheat you; be honest and frank anyway. People really need help but may attack you if you do help them. Help people anyway. Give the world the best you have; And it may never be enough; Give the world the best you have anyway.”
Wen Qin receives the message from the Lord from the sacred high place. Coming down from the place, he brings comfort, counsel, and instruction to those who are sad, angry, and in despair.
He is also a watchman, pitying the poor and the weak, whipping the wicked, and guarding the children. He is a wise man whose eyes are dim, but whose mind could see everything. I wonder, does he still long to see the roses bloom? I know, he has a rose in his heart. That rose can send fragrance in the morning the same as a real rose and can stick to crystal dew. However, the earthly roses, when they wither, will be abandoned and trampled underfoot. That rose in Wen Qin’s heart, even if withered, someone also will hold it in the palm of the hand, in the warmth of one’s body until it disappears.
When Wen En, his daughter, graduated from junior high school, he borrowed money to let her study nursing. He thinks the daughter's choice is a call from God. His daughter is gentle, and she always treats each patient with a soft voice. She is always meticulous.
"I wish I had more patience, especially with patients who are cranky, who smell bad, and whose diseases might be contagious." It was something the daughter asked her father to pray to God for her.
Faith is passed down from father to daughter.
"The fate of being blind is not what I’m sorry for. God must have a reason for this." This is what Wen Qin said to his daughter, as well as to his believers.
At one point, he also had a lot of blame and resentment within him, pointing his fingers at everyone else. Today, he is willing to reflect quietly. Listening can awaken the voices within others. Praise can make him find the good in others and help him to appreciate them. Pity infuses his eyes with the same tenderness as the Virgin. To the so-called wicked, he knew that the sun shines on the evil and the good.
Some people say: "Wen Qin is poor." But I will have to say, "Wen Qin is rich, for he is the giver of abundance in the spiritual lives of the believers. Remember, the richness of the blind Wen Qin is not material or monetary, but spiritual."
Some people say: "Wen Qin is blind." But I will have to say: "Wen Qin’s soul is pure and bright. Though his eyes are dim, his spiritual eyes are transparent, and he is like an unceasing light shining in this extravagant and feverish world. It is a light that illuminates and inspires the dead and the weak but puts the guilty and the envious to shame."
- Translated by Nicholas Cao
盲人文勤——一位生活在苏北教会的牧者
前言：这篇文章中的盲人牧者——文勤是一个真实的人物。他在苏北农村的一间小教会里牧会。虽然眼睛看不见，但是他对圣经却是非常熟悉，周日，他还给信徒们讲解圣经。当我提出要给这位牧者一点经济资助的时候，他拒绝了，他对我说：“上帝的恩典还够我用，我已经很感恩。请把钱捐助给更需要的人吧。”后来，我给他买了一个圣经播放器，他却是欣然接受，他对我说：“这才是我真正的精神、灵性所需啊。”
这是一间乡村教会，屋子很小很简陋，也大多是老年人。 牧者是文勤，50多岁，妻子去世，与女儿住在一起。文勤是盲人，先天性的。文勤的低保，每月200多元，家里1亩多地，是妹妹文兰帮着种的，仅仅就这么多的经济收入。
文勤每天只吃炒大白菜，烙煎饼，衣服常常打补丁。如此简朴的生活条件，但，文勤却从不奢望锦衣玉食，因为，他的心有另外一种牵挂，那就是教会的事工与信徒们的生命成长。
玉珍的婆婆，脾气暴躁，性格蛮横。玉珍常常在教会里抱怨，哭泣。当所有人都指责玉珍婆婆的时候，文勤却对玉珍说：“饶恕婆婆，并为他祷告。”
玉珍觉得文勤不够仁慈，不能体会她的感受。但，文勤依然在祷告中等待，等待他眼中看似女儿的玉珍，能够强大起来，而他眼中的强大，就是他一直强调的饶恕与爱。
他，一直在祷告——“愿上帝赐予玉珍一颗饶恕的心。”
秀华婶子的儿子沉溺网络游戏，秀华婶子失落，绝望，哭泣。
文勤对她说：“不要悲伤，相信孩子还有一颗向善向上的心，请举起一双祷告的手，上帝将纪念一个苦难母亲的眼泪，请相信祷告之后，会有奇迹，也许就在明天。”
面对社会的丑陋与黑暗， 文勤是痛心疾首，他也曾疾呼公义，怒斥罪恶。
但，在证道的讲台上，他宣读了特蕾莎修女创办的儿童之家的墙壁上的标语——人们不讲道理，思想谬误，自我中心，不管怎样，总是爱他们。如果你做善事，人们说你自私自利，别有用心，不管怎样，总是要做善事。诚实与坦率使你易受攻击，不管怎样，总是要做善事。人们确实需要帮助，然而你若帮助他们，却可能遭受攻击，不管怎样，总是要帮助。将你所拥有的最好的东西献给世界，你可能会被踢掉牙齿，不管怎样，总是要将你所拥有的最好的东西献给世界。”
文勤是一位牧者， 他从圣山高处领受来自上主的信息。来到山下，面对忧伤，怨愤，绝望的人们，他带来安慰，劝诫与训诲。
他也是一位守望者，对贫穷的怜悯，对凶恶的鞭挞，对孩子的守护，对弱者的同情。他更是一位智者，他的肉眼昏暗，但，他的心眼却能洞悉一切。不知道，他是否还渴望能看见玫瑰花开？但，我知道，文勤的心中有一朵玫瑰。那朵玫瑰，一样的会吐露芬芳，在清晨，一样的会粘着晶莹露珠。但是，俗世的玫瑰，在凋谢时，会被毫不怜惜的被丢弃，践踏在脚下。而，文勤心中的那一朵玫瑰，即使凋零，也有人将他捧在手心，在体温的呵护下走向消逝。
女儿文恩，初中毕业以后，文勤借钱让她去学了护理专业。女儿的抉择，文勤始终认为这是来自上帝的呼召。女儿是温柔的，她对每一个病人都柔声细语，细致入微。
“但愿我能有更多的忍耐，特别是对待那些脾气古怪的病人，身上有恶臭味的病人，有传染可能的病人。”这是女儿请求父亲为她向上帝祈祷的事情。
信仰，在父女间得到传承。
“盲人的命运，不是我的悲哀，上帝有上帝的美意在其中吧。”这是文勤对女儿说的，也是对信徒们说的。
曾经的文勤也有一大堆的指责与怨愤，将指头指向每一个别人。今天，他愿意静静地反思。倾听，能够唤醒别人的心声。赞美，发现别人的闪光点，拥有欣赏的能力。怜悯，在目光里注入与圣母一样的柔情。而对所谓的恶人，他知道太阳照好人，也照歹人。
有人说：“文勤是贫乏的。”但我要说：“文勤是丰盛的，因为他是信徒们灵性生命丰富的施予者。记住，盲人文勤的丰富不是物质的、金钱的，而是与心灵有关。”
有人说：“文勤是瞎眼的。”但我要说:“文勤是透彻的，是明亮的。他虽然肉眼昏暗，但是他的灵眼却是通透无比的，他像闪耀在奢靡、发烧世界的一道不息的亮光。这道亮光令伤逝者、孱弱者得到启迪与鼓舞，却令罪恶者、欲望者感到自惭形秽。”
Editor's note: Wen Qin, a blind pastor, is a real person. He is a pastor in a small church in a rural area of Northern Jiangsu. Though he is blind, he knows the Bible well, and on Sunday he would explain it to the faithful. When I offered to give the shepherd some money, he refused and said to me, "God's grace is enough for me, and I am thankful. Please give the money to those who need it more." Later, I bought him an audio player so he could listen to the Bible being read. This time, he gladly accepted. "This is exactly what I need to help me in my spiritual life," he told me.
It is a village church, small and shabby. Most believers are elderly, pastored by Wen Qin, who is in his 50s. His wife died, and he lives with his daughter. Wen was born blind. The subsistence allowance Wen Qin receives is about 200 yuan per month. He owns more than 1 mu of land, which is cultivated by his sister Wen Lan. That’s all the income he can receive.
Wen Qin eats only fried cabbage and fried pancakes. He often wears patched clothes. With such simple living conditions, he never expects to live an extravagant life, because his heart is filled with another kind of concern, that is, the ministry of the church and the inner life growth of the believers.
The mother-in-law of Yu Zhen has an irascible temper and an insolent disposition. Yu Zhen often complains and cries in church. When everyone blames her mother-in-law, Wen Qin would say to her, "Forgive you mother-in-law and pray for her."
Yu feels he is not kind enough and can not understand her feelings. However, Wen is still waiting in prayer, waiting for her, who is like his daughter in his eyes. He wants her to become stronger, and the strength in his eyes is the forgiveness and love that he has always emphasized.
He keeps praying -- "May God grant Yu Zhen a forgiving heart."
Aunt Xiu Hua's son was addicted to online games. Aunt Xiu was in despair and often cried.
Wen said to her: "Don't be sad. Believe that the child has a good heart. Please raise your hands and pray. God will mind a suffering mother's tears. Please believe that after prayer, there will be a miracle, maybe tomorrow."
Faced with the ugliness and darkness of society, he was in great distress. He also cried out for justice and denounced evil.
But in the lectern, he also read words from the wall of the Children's Home founded by Mother Teresa. “People are unreasonable, illogical, self-centered; Love them anyway. If you are kind, people may accuse you of selfish, ulterior motives; Be kind anyway. If you are honest and frank，people may cheat you; be honest and frank anyway. People really need help but may attack you if you do help them. Help people anyway. Give the world the best you have; And it may never be enough; Give the world the best you have anyway.”
Wen Qin receives the message from the Lord from the sacred high place. Coming down from the place, he brings comfort, counsel, and instruction to those who are sad, angry, and in despair.
He is also a watchman, pitying the poor and the weak, whipping the wicked, and guarding the children. He is a wise man whose eyes are dim, but whose mind could see everything. I wonder, does he still long to see the roses bloom? I know, he has a rose in his heart. That rose can send fragrance in the morning the same as a real rose and can stick to crystal dew. However, the earthly roses, when they wither, will be abandoned and trampled underfoot. That rose in Wen Qin’s heart, even if withered, someone also will hold it in the palm of the hand, in the warmth of one’s body until it disappears.
When Wen En, his daughter, graduated from junior high school, he borrowed money to let her study nursing. He thinks the daughter's choice is a call from God. His daughter is gentle, and she always treats each patient with a soft voice. She is always meticulous.
"I wish I had more patience, especially with patients who are cranky, who smell bad, and whose diseases might be contagious." It was something the daughter asked her father to pray to God for her.
Faith is passed down from father to daughter.
"The fate of being blind is not what I’m sorry for. God must have a reason for this." This is what Wen Qin said to his daughter, as well as to his believers.
At one point, he also had a lot of blame and resentment within him, pointing his fingers at everyone else. Today, he is willing to reflect quietly. Listening can awaken the voices within others. Praise can make him find the good in others and help him to appreciate them. Pity infuses his eyes with the same tenderness as the Virgin. To the so-called wicked, he knew that the sun shines on the evil and the good.
Some people say: "Wen Qin is poor." But I will have to say, "Wen Qin is rich, for he is the giver of abundance in the spiritual lives of the believers. Remember, the richness of the blind Wen Qin is not material or monetary, but spiritual."
Some people say: "Wen Qin is blind." But I will have to say: "Wen Qin’s soul is pure and bright. Though his eyes are dim, his spiritual eyes are transparent, and he is like an unceasing light shining in this extravagant and feverish world. It is a light that illuminates and inspires the dead and the weak but puts the guilty and the envious to shame."
- Translated by Nicholas Cao
Wen Qin, a Blind Faithful Pastor in Jiangsu
