- Jim Etherton
Becoming a Christian
I love to hear how other people have come to faith in Jesus Christ – each account is so personal – reminding me how God meets each one of us where we are and knows us individually. So here is how God brought me to himself.
When I went to university, I had not been to church (apart from weddings and funerals) for ten years and knew very little about Christianity. In my second term, I was invited to a supper party and discussion by some Christian friends – students never refuse a free meal! During the discussion, I became the ‘leader of the opposition’ – arguing against the Christians and standing up for atheists and agnostics. One question which was asked was “If you do not believe in God then what would make you believe?” The answer from one of my friends was “I would have to see a miracle right in front of my eyes.” I disagreed and responded that while I did not believe, if in future I ever did believe then I did not think that I would know in advance what would cause me to believe. That turned out to be the truest thing I said all evening.
The following evening I was the only non-Christian in that group to accept the invitation to go and hear a talk “The God who speaks” by David Watson. This was the first time I had heard the gospel message of forgiveness through Jesus’ death and resurrection. At the end there was an invitation to pray a prayer of repentance for past wrongs and to ask Jesus to come in to our life to be our personal saviour. Something in what had been said had reached deep within me and I prayed that prayer. And then I went forward to receive a blessing and a booklet explaining more. I understood very little about my new found faith at that point but was greatly helped by my Christian friends over the following weeks and months. Over the years since then I have never regretted that first step of faith.
Do you have such a story to tell – or have you yet to invite Jesus in personally? If you would like to know more, you would be welcome at any of our services.