Testimony

I was fortunate enough last night to spend some time with two friends who are in seminary with me.  We've been getting together every so often over the last couple months just to catch up with each other.  Times like these are so important for me because they give me the chance to stop thinking about my own life and hear stories about what is happening/has happened in the lives of others.


One piece of our conversation that I continue to think about is when we talked about the power of testimony.  I'm sure that most of us, at one point in our lives, have been to a church or some other kind of ministry and heard the testimony of someone whose life has been radically changed by God.  This person may have been a drug addict, possibly a member of a gang, or any other number of things, but regardless of the specific details, they went from a place of not knowing or caring about God to a place of absolute dependence on God.  It really can only be described as some kind of divine revelation: similar to Paul, God encountered them in a special way and their lives were immediately turned around.


I've heard these stories a number of times and am amazed every time.  I'm amazed that God loves us so much that he meets us wherever we are and I'm reminded that entering into a relationship with God really does turn people's lives upside down.  Simply put, it's amazing.


After hearing these testimonies, I always look back over my own life and remind myself that I've never spent time in jail, haven't stolen cars or robbed convenient stores, and I haven't even tried drugs.  Simply put, I've thought my testimony is boring.  That is, until now.


Last night my friend shared a conversation he's had with someone (we'll call him John) who has the kind of wild testimony I've described.  In this conversation, John explained that the power of testimonies like mine is in the realization that God's faithfulness has been present and evident in my life since I was a child.  What I see as boring, John sees as a blessing.  John said he would love to erase those rough years from his life and from his memory.  He wishes that he did not have to remember the bad things he has done and the hurt he has caused.


As I think about that comment, isn't that what we all wish?  While I may not have stolen money from my parents and been ripped off in a drug deal, I have caused some serious pain to some real friends because of my own selfishness.  I have done things I wish I could erase from my memory because every time I'm reminded of it, I'm taken back to it.  There have been days in my life when I didn't even want to get out of bed because I felt like I was completely alone.  While the memories that John and I might share are very different, I do think we're still telling a very similar story:


There have been times in my life when I desperately needed God but was running in every direction except towards him.  I was searching for something that would provide me with hope, but I was looking to the world instead of to God.  But then, God found me.  It may have been through a friend, a mentor, a dream, a vision, or in jail, but God found me, and I now have hope.  That is our testimony.


"Because he lives, I can face tomorrow
Because he lives, all fear is gone
Because I know he holds the future 
And life is worth the living Just because he lives"