I committed my life to Christ at the age of seven after an encounter with my Saviour – yes at that young age He proved to me that He is real.
We all have a story to tell. Some are happy stories, others are sad and others are just stories. Fact is that we all love stories and therefore we should be telling our stories. Here is mine, I have to tell you! I grew up in a Christian family and recall how my parents insisted that I attend Sunday school as of grade one. Having been an Afrikaans boy it was not always easy to attend the English Sunday school but for some hereditary reasons I was brought up in the Methodist church. None of the other kids in my Sunday school class were at school with me and therefore I did not really have any friends at Sunday school. Even though this being the case, I cannot remember that I ever refused to go to Sunday school and in hind sight this was already a sign of God’s plan for my life and with His help I persevered. In my walk with Christ there have been very distinct moments, both mountain top experiences and dark pit occasions, which stuck in my mind. I would like to share these life changing spiritual landmarks with you. I recall how, at age 7, I was in a Sunday school class one morning and a clown (the teacher dressed up like a clown) taught a lesson on the life of Jesus. I was intrigued by this lesson – here was a man (Jesus) who was doing so much good to others but still he was hated by some because of whom he was. Eventually they accused him falsely, his friends betrayed him, they conducted an unfair court hearing, released a murderer in his place and then crucified him and still, as he was hanging there on the cross, he asked God to “please forgive them”. And it didn’t end there, Jesus didn’t carry any grudges or desires to retaliate but instead he sent a comforter, a healer, and advocated to come live within us to continue his work. As a young boy I was touched by this. The clown told us that this same Jesus was living in our hearts. I wanted to know more about this Jesus and wanted to test the “theory” of him living in my heart. I can’t remember how long after the Sunday school lesson it happened but at some stage I went into my room, I wrote a poster that said “no one aloud inside” (note the spelling of a 7 year old Afrikaans boy) and put it on the outside of my bedroom door. I closed the door and kneeled next to my bed in a prayer position. I prayed to the Lord to prove to me that he was really living in me and I remember so well how my arms and my hands started shaking uncontrollably. The sweat was dripping from the palms of my hands onto the bedspread. I cannot recall whether I was shocked or amazed at the time but what I remember is that at that moment I realized that this story that was told by the clown was true; God is real and he was living in me. Nothing else could have caused my body to react like it did but the Spirit that was in me. Although there were times later in life that I doubted his existence, this experience always got the upper hand over any such doubt. This was the start of my walk with Christ – He is real to me!!
If and when this Testimony has spoken into your heart, please go to the Commitment page.