GOD’S WORD CHANGES EVERYTHING
Think back to when you first became a follower of Christ. What were the means by which God opened your eyes to salvation? The Bible says that faith comes from hearing the word of Christ. In my testimony, I can look back and say confidently this is true. God used a community of believers who lived out His Words to nudge me in the direction of reading the Bible and hearing directly from God himself.
“So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ.”
Romans 10:17
The Word Seen
When I was a freshman in college, I became involved in a Christian organization for the sole reason of wanting to surround myself with “good” people. As I began developing relationships with my new friends, I noticed two things.
One, my new Christian friends were completely normal. They pranked each other. They hosted Dance Dance Revolution parties in their dorm rooms. They put together bonfires on the beach. They were just fun and real people who invited me into those everyday moments with them.
The second thing I noticed was that while my Christian friends were normal in many ways, they also had something different about them: their faith. They attended church without being dragged by their parents. They hosted Bible studies and faith discussions in their dorm rooms. They played worship music at the bonfires. And they invited people like me into their ordinary lives because they desired for others to know Jesus too.
I saw these friends living out what they heard from God in the Bible in very real and genuine ways. Witnessing something different in my friends stirred something within me, and before I knew it, I would be forever changed when God opened my ears to hear directly from Him in the Bible.
The Word Heard
My friends were great, but I had a false impression of them. I believed they knew everything about God, while I was behind and didn’t know anything. My pride resulted from sinful fear that they would discover me for who I really was: a pretend, wanna-be Christian. Whatever that really means.
In attempts to catch up in knowledge so that I could sound just as scholarly as the person next to me at Bible study, I googled words that would change my life, “Where to start reading in the Bible.”
When I typed these seven words, I had no idea what transformation I would be experiencing for the next 12+ years! You see, a site instructed me to begin reading in one of the gospels: Matthew, Mark, Luke, or John. I started with Mark; after all, it was the shorter of the books. Only four chapters in, and my heart was wrecked. I read the parable of the sower and realized that I had always had a longing to stay committed to Jesus, but I never did. There are probably a ton of little reasons why I had not; in fact, there are three good summaries of the reasons why in the parable. Yet, at that moment, I knew I wanted to pursue God, to be deeply rooted in Him for the rest of my life.
Check out the parable that changed my life here: Mark 4:1-20!
Now, did I understand everything about salvation? Goodness, no! In fact, I still have questions I wrestle with. One thing I did know was that I was sorry for not being committed to Jesus, and I wanted to be with Him forever.
God used my Christian friends’ lives to nudge me toward Him, but ultimately, His word is what granted my faith.
The Word Embraced
I am reminded of the story in Luke 24:13-25 when the disciples traveled to Emmaus after Jesus’ resurrection. The disciples were perplexed over Jesus’ death and did not understand the testimonies of those who had seen the empty tomb. Unbeknown to the disciples, Jesus traveled with them on this trip. It wasn’t until later, when they broke bread with Jesus, that they recognized Him, their Savior, and said to one another, “Were not our hearts burning within us while he talked with us on the road and opened the Scriptures to us?”
That is how my heart felt. It burned within me when I heard the story of the soils, and I knew there was no going back.
The Word of God changes everything. I saw the difference the Bible made in my friends’ lives, though I didn’t fully understand it at first. Then, once I experienced it, I knew my life would never be the same.
Reflect and Connect
What means did God use to bring about your salvation?
How does Romans 10:14-17 connect to my faith story shared above? How does it relate to yours?
How has the Word of God changed your life?
