The Man Without Ears

 Jona | English Translation: Maggie Tsui

In 1952, in an aboriginal tribal village called Quri in Hsinchu, Taiwan, an Atayal woman gave birth to a baby without ears. Heartbroken, she wrapped the baby with linen and tossed him down into a valley. She wanted to end his young, unfortunate life early, for she did not want her son to endure the pain of being ridiculed as he grew up. Moreover, she worried that his disability would hinder his livelihood in the already poverty-stricken village. Two days later, she went to retrieve his body, but was shocked to discover that the baby was still alive. After learning about the story, the woman ’ s father, a Christian, encouraged her to do her best to raise the baby. 

The baby was named Cheng-Lu Hsu ( “ Cheng-Lu ” means the way of righteousness). He grew up bearing the mockery from his tribal people. Although he could not hear them, he could see their scoffing faces. Since he could not express his anger, he became quite irritable and sensitive. Whenever he saw somebody staring at him, he would beat him up because he thought they were laughing at him. He was also an alcoholic, squandering his life and becoming the headache of his village. 

His family hoped that Christian principles could help him, but he often snuck away from church meetings. Sometimes, when the offering bag was passed before him, he would steal the money and treat his friends to a big feast. 

One day when he was 17 years old, he once again tried to sneak away from a special meeting at church. This time, his mother had gotten six big guys to block his way out. Then suddenly, he turned back and walked straight toward the pulpit. He said, “ I felt that there was a power pushing me forward to the pulpit. I wanted to resist but was powerless to do so. ” He thought the power was from the six men, but later discovered that there was nobody behind him. 

As he approached the pulpit he heard a voice, “ Ta-Lu, Ta-Lu, I am Jesus! You are my beloved child! Repent! ” (Ta-Lu was his infant name.) Before this, he could not hear, but when he heard this voice, he involuntarily knelt down and proclaimed, “ Thank God! ” The congregation did not hear God ’ s voice, but saw him full of sweat, crying out loudly, and spit out loads of filth on the ground. After this, he could hear and speak. Later, he discovered that God put the ears in his forehead! So when he talked on the phone, he placed the phone on his forehead. 

Without being taught, he learned to play all sorts of musical instruments, and even wrote his own compositions. He had only finished the grade school, but he was able to draw the new church ’ s blueprints overnight. Doctors from Japan tested his severely-underdeveloped ears and found no auditory response; they concluded that it was a miracle that he could hear. 

Cheng-Lu Hsu is now an elder at a local church, and makes his living by growing organic produce. When he has time, he tells others the miraculous work God has done in him, so that people can come to know this Great God.