Testimonies...

Before Jesus came into my life I was living a pretty ordinary existence for a university student. I’d almost managed to convince myself that I was probably better than most on the good citizen scale. But could I be sure? What if I wasn’t “good enough”? And how do you know when “good enough is good enough”? I had my doubts. Most of the time I’d keep busy with studies or Friday nights out with student friends to push the thoughts out of my mind.

Well, one day not long after I had broken up with my girlfriend, I found myself troubled with these doubts again… doubts about relationships, the purpose for living and about life. One of my university tutors was a Christian. We got talking one Friday night at a restaurant and I thought I’d be smart and take it out on him. During a long conversation, he challenged me with some verses from the Bible like this one (John 14:6): “I am the way, the truth and the life, no one comes to the Father except through me.” That idea troubled me. Jesus was making an exclusive claim … “no one gets into Heaven except through Jesus”. I never realised that! I just had to know more!

Well, over the next 3 months or so this friend invited me along to his church to hear bits of the Bible like that one explained. I discovered there was so much to learn from the Bible. What did I learn that made such a difference?

*I learnt that nobody is good enough and we all fall short of God’s standards. (Roman 3:23).

*I learnt that God loves me so much that he sent his Son Jesus to die to make it possible for me to become “good enough” that is, acceptable to God.

*I learnt that if I trust in what Jesus came to do for me by dying on the cross and rising from the dead, then God will accept me immediately as if I were “good enough”

*I learnt that this is a free gift from God and cannot be earned by anything I might do that’s good (Ephesians 2:8-10)

*I learnt that now there is no condemnation for those who trust in what Jesus has done for them. (Romans 8:1).

I’d found the truth in the Bible! It was so releasing! I felt “free of doubt” in a way I’d never felt before. A kind of peaceful feeling. That profoundly affected my attitudes, desires, values, actions and relationships.

It was not a dramatic scene, really. No bolt of lightning, not even a clap of thunder. It happened one Sunday night, after going along to hear a guest speaker at my friend's church. There I was in his small apartment. With a cup of coffee in one hand, I knelt and said a simple prayer asking Jesus to forgive me and come into my life. And the Bible says that from that moment I became a part of God's family.

This was the beginning of an eternal, spiritual journey! And so from that day, Jesus' disciples' mission (Matthew 28:19-20) became my mission too: to share this great news about the free gift of Jesus to others."

Rocco.