I want to share a story that illustrates the life-giving and redemptive power of Jesus.
In the seminars I teach to graduating students, I always invite them to pray with me to ask Jesus to come into their lives and be with them forever. I explain to them that although this is an important prayer, it is not the words themselves but rather the belief and sincerity of our hearts that make the difference. I then share with them the story of my father, which helps to illustrate this.
When my mom was pregnant with me, my parents’ relationship was falling apart. This was my dad’s second marriage, and he had become a drug addict with a criminal record. He owned a fishing boat and would fish for salmon and tuna during fishing season, and off season he worked as a mechanic, day laborer, and petty criminal to support his drug habit. He sold drugs and was injecting heroin on a regular basis. He would wake up in jail almost weekly, after having been involved in bar fights that he had no memory of since he had been so drunk.
He was desperately unhappy and confused. He concluded that the only way to be happy was to always be high on drugs, but he often didn’t have enough money to support the habit. So, he hatched a plan to rob a bank. He figured that if he got away with it, he would have enough money to take all the drugs he wanted until he died, or if caught, he would shoot it out with the police until he was killed. Basically, it was a plan to end his life quite quickly one way or another. The hitch to this plan was that he didn’t own a handgun and couldn’t buy one because of his criminal record, so he headed out to look for someone to sell him a gun illegally.
While walking downtown, he met a young woman, and since she was attractive, he decided to talk to her. She started telling him about Jesus, which was the last thing he wanted to hear. He told her that he had grown up in a religious family; his father would act like a good Christian on Sunday, but then abuse his family, and live the opposite of his supposed beliefs all week. The young woman explained that she wasn’t talking about religion or church, she was talking about having an experience with Jesus that could change his life. She asked him to pray with her to receive Jesus. My dad was too proud and stubborn to pray with her there, but he promised he would think about it.
After having been unsuccessful in obtaining a gun, he went home and thought about his encounter with the woman, and then he prayed something like this: “God, I don’t even believe You exist, but if You do, I need help. And if You’re real, I need You to change my life, as I’m at the end of my rope.”
From that day forward, his life started to change. He no longer had any desire to take drugs, and a week later when someone offered him drugs, he realized he didn’t need them as he already felt happy. He stopped drinking and began reading the Bible. My mom, although skeptical at first, saw that his change was genuine and they stayed together. Not long after, they dedicated their lives to Jesus and began training to be missionaries.
I am thankful for how God worked in my father’s life. I’ve often reflected on how this experience likely saved me as well from a very negative trajectory in life, and helped me to eventually dedicate my life to Jesus and to helping those in need.
I tell the teenagers that I teach: “Jesus has the power to change your lives today, and to help you in whatever situation you may find yourselves in in the future.” It’s not about how we present ourselves to God, He just wants us to come to Him. Jesus said in John 6:37, “Whoever comes to me I will never cast out.” And Romans 10:13 says, “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.” If we call out with sincerity, Jesus is there for us.
Let’s remember that Jesus not only died and rose again so that we could have a place with Him in heaven, but also so that while we are here on earth, He can change our lives for the better, walk with us through every challenge we face, and be our Savior each and every day.
If you have not yet received Jesus as your Savior, you can do so by praying the following prayer:
Dear Jesus, I believe that You are the Son of God and that You died on the cross for me so that, through Your sacrifice, I can live forever with You in heaven. I ask that You forgive my sins. I open the door of my heart to You. Please fill me with Your Holy Spirit and help me live in a way that glorifies You. Guide my life and help me to follow You. In Your name I pray. Amen.