刘诗秋:华南理工大学选手，第16届21世纪杯全国英语演讲比赛季军。

 

演讲稿全文英文版：

 

Honorable judges, ladies and gentleman, good morning.

 

I want you to tell me something. What’s the first thing that pops into your mind when you hear the word faith, a sacred and heart-warming word that’s supposed to remind you of all the beauties and goodness of life, the key that used to keep us going when confronted with all sorts of hardships and obstacles. However, when I hear the word faith, the thing it reminds me of is so remote and intangible. In this rich and peaceful era, there aren’t as many disasters or wars, especially for us young people whose lives are much easier and wealthier than our fathers’. So is faith gradually losing its significance in the human world nowadays?

 

Like many of others, I used to think of faith as of no importance at all, and I deemed myself as a faithless person. I thought I can live my life perfectly fine without intentionally grasping something as my faith. Until one day I met an American Christian named John, who later became a very good friend of mine. John is an extremely faithful Christian, and he thinks of Jesus Christ as his lord. He, as a pastor, tried to convert me into a Christian when we first met. So he lectured me with his extensive knowledge of history and philosophy every time we hung out. In spite of his amazingly detailed description of the history of Jesus, what really got me intrigued is not the story he told, instead, is John himself as probably the first and most faithful person I’ve met in my entire life. I can feel the sparks in his eyes when he talks about biblical things, and I am so touched by the integrity of him when he says:” Jesus Christ is the ultimate pursuit of my life” without any hesitation or doubt.

 

The more we got along, the more I became jealous of him, because he always seems to be joyful and optimistic. When I ask him how he manages it, he said:” I’ve had bad days too, but I also know that God is with me. So I know that it’ll all be okay.” Suddenly it occurred to me how lucky it is to have something you can completely put your trust into, something that will bring you strength when your mind is weak, something that reminds you “ it’s not so bad” when you’re filled with sorrow, something that gives your existence significance and bring it up to a higher level. So I was literally converted, not into a Christian, not into someone faithful either, but into someone who wants to be as faithful at least.

 

That was the first time I am exposed to the power of faith. To put it simple, your life is complete only if you have faith. You must find something important and significant in your life, your purpose, your pursuit, whatever you call it. I’m not saying faith must relate to religion or God. It could be anything. It could be your career goal, your children, your lover, fellowship, or a certain kind of life style, anything, as long as you dare to trust your life in it with your heart of hearts.

 

Now I’m still faithless. I haven’t become a Christian or find what matters to me most yet. But what John gave me is whole new perspective to see life. So I’ll strive to really feel and touch the beauty in life and won’t take it for granted. And that’s also what I encourage all of us to do. Keep looking for the faith of your own, and when you do, you’ll know it’s all worth it.