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Our Testimonies
A Vessel of Mercy
I grew up in what I always thought was a typical American family. My parents took me to Sunday school when I was small, but at some point they ceased to attend church because "it wasn't real to them." To my great Grandmother, however, God was real, and whenever I went to her home she would speak something concerning her faith in God to me. I was very impressed with the fact that this woman was not afraid of death. She was ready to "meet the Lord" whenever He would take her. I believe that this was a divine seed that would sprout in me soon after her death.
Early in high school this matter of faith in God came increasingly into my consideration. How could someone really believe in God without some sort of evidence? I could not understand this. During this time a friend of mine gave me a Bible and I began to read the book of Revelation. It was confusing, yet intriguing. With the aid of a book by Hal Lindsey, I read through Revelation a second time and near the end, where John speaks concerning the New Jerusalem, my heart was opened to the Lord. I believed the word of God and Christ entered into me. This was far beyond what I had ever imagined. The answer to my question had come. I had found true faith in Jesus Christ.
Because there were very few Christians in my "circle," I did not make much progress in knowing God or His word until my second year in college. At that time I was again stirred up to seek him due to some events in my environment. I saw an ad in the newspaper concerning a Bible study on campus and I decide to attend. The group was studying the Gospel of John at the time and I was very encouraged by what I heard. Jesus Christ came as life to meet every man's need. Whether we're moral, immoral, sick, impotent, hungry, thirsty, in bondage to sin, blind, or literally dead (like Lazarus), Christ can meet our need. Those meetings on the book of John and many others I attended in those days became the highlight of my college years.
My mother told me at one point that I reminded her of a "person in love," and indeed I was. I was in love with the Lord Jesus. He was so sweet to me and became so attractive to me as I saw more concerning Him in His word and enjoyed Him together with the others in fellowship. I am very grateful to Him for giving me His life within and companions without with whom I can pursue Him. May He do the same for many others.
M. F., Austin, Texas
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