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Years ago, there was a boy who questioned almost everything. Even at a very young age when his father (or mother) would tell him something he immediately would wonder if it were really true – no matter how obvious it seemed.
He always wanted to be right. He valued the truth. It scared him that he might not really know what was absolutely true. Especially, about the most important subjects. And, he never found anything more important than life and death.
Eventually, like most people, he came to believe in certain ways of living. But unlike many, he would always double check the facts, then check again, and again, to be as certain as possible. He distrusted his own mind at times. And, he found the likelihood of being deceived, very high.
When he was about 13 years old, a very significant event happened. While watching TV, what appeared to be just a news show offered something more. After the feature stories, the host talked about being saved and going to heaven when you die. This idea really appealed to him. So, he followed the host’s instruction to pray a simple prayer to God.
Later, he went on to graduate high school and then college. But, he always had this sense that some aspects of reality had been hidden from him. Even so, he focused on daily activities and began encountering people who in some way influenced him with their ideas and customs. Those who seemed to really be sure of something, he’d ask why they believed it. Usually, it then became apparent that they just took someone else’s word for it, or had convinced themselves of it. Sometimes, when scientific explanations regarding the origin of life were offered, he’d ponder what they said. But later, there was a lot of doubt about what they were telling him. Mere biology (or science in general) didn’t explain human life – there was something that remained hidden.
Soon thereafter, he became more and more aware of his deep hunger to live forever. He also had a feeling that although everything seemed fine – it was not going to stay that way. After all, no one lives here on this earth, forever. And, when a person dies, then what? He wondered.
Did he receive salvation years ago – when he prayed to the Lord Jesus Christ? He wasn’t living any different than the average person. Had he missed something about the plan of salvation? Was he so busy living for this world and doing whatever felt good to consider what really would matter in the end? He decided he must determine the truth about life since all other approaches had failed to deliver anything of lasting value. He knew his desire was for a “world without end” – a life the way it should be.
Having been married a few years now, his wife wanted a child. Yet, in many ways he still was a child. It became obvious to this spiritually immature man that things were getting worse as humankind progressed. He remembered his father would sometimes say, “If things are so much better with all of society’s enlightened thinking and technology, then why are things getting worse every day?” Evidently, there’s an unresolved problem he’d concluded.
He thought, “Eternal life. That is what I must have!” He didn’t have complete assurance of it. He was still selfish. But, at least now receptive to God, who had ensured specific events would get his attention. He knew he had to change. And, there was only one way to begin. God was his only hope! He had become fed up with society and what it valued. He had tried it and was done with it. Determined to know God personally, he didn’t care what people thought about him, anymore. He wanted God to show him the truth.
He prayed again for God to forgive him. As he read the Holy Bible, God spoke to him through it. He listened to preachers teach from it. God spoke to him through them. He prayed for wisdom and discernment. God granted it.
Day by day, the circumstances around him weren’t really any different at all. But changes which happened to him on the inside made each one better than the previous. He realized that the more he focused on God (instead of himself) the happier he was, regardless of any outward situation. He grew to love God deeply as he embraced the absolute truth no matter what the earthly cost. His death had been overcome by the blood of Jesus Christ!
He now seeks to make known the good news – life never ends for those who truly follow Christ. And, it is very clear to him that no one comes to the Father except through Jesus. So, every day he asks God to reveal the truth to everyone, so they too would be filled with total peace and purpose for living.
