His Life and Message Causes Change

Look at the life and influence of Jesus of Nazareth throughout history and you will see that Jesus Christ is, in fact, the living Son of God. He and His message always produce great changes in the lives of men and of nations. Wherever His teachings and influence have gone, the holiness of marriage has been emphasized, women's rights and voice in society acknowledged; schools and universities of higher learning established; laws to protect children made; slavery abolished; and a multitude of other changes accomplished for the good of mankind.¹ Personally I have seen tremendous change in my own life after becoming a follower of Jesus.

I grew up in a good home with loving parents but still life was difficult. I was small for my size and often picked on in school. I remember on a daily basis that my neighbor would wait for me after school so he could threaten me and beat me up. I grew up shy and insecure and afraid of people. I remember avoiding speech class in college because I was so afraid of getting up in front of people. By the time I reached my Junior year in college life was pretty much going downhill fast. I had few friends and the ones I did have were more people to go to the bars with than actual friends who cared about me.

It was on Halloween night, 1978, when the proverbial “straw that broke the camel’s back” happened. My roommates asked me to move out because they didn’t like me. I think they thought I was weird and had weird friends. I did a quick assessment of my life and realized that in every direction I looked, things looked bleak. So in desperation I drove home to seek my parents’ advice. After arriving and sharing my story with them they said they loved me but had no answers for me. I had to live life on my own. I drove back to my apartment saddened and feeling lost.

During this time I had an old friend Bill, who had been inviting me to his Christian campus group. I kept putting him off as I was intimidated by people. He told me of an upcoming ski retreat and invited me to go. I was interested but afraid. The time for signing up passed and I figured my chance to go was over. Then I ran into Bill on campus and he told me that he had signed me up and paid my deposit, so I owed him the $25 whether I went or not. Well I decided to go.

At the retreat I was surrounded by Christians and in particular Bill’s girl-friend Deb. Deb was the real deal. She was a gal who loved the Lord and was authentic in her Christianity. On the second day of the retreat, through an amazing miracle, God had me spend the day with Deb on the ski slopes. It was then that I saw what a real Christian was and decided I wanted to become one. Later that night I committed my life to Christ. My life has never been the same. There are still challenging days and difficulties in life, but I am not alone. As it says in 2 Cor 5:17 I have discovered new life in Christ:

¹⁷Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!²

¹ Campus Crusade For Christ, "Who Is Jesus?" http://www.greatcom.org/resources/whoisjesusorig/ lifeandmessage.html (accessed October 2, 2007)
²2 Corinthians 5:17