Chapter Eighteen

Chapter Eighteen
Shouting from the Rooftop

I was so grateful to God for saving me, I couldn’t wait to tell people about it. The minute I started to tell people, the questioning began. Why Christianity? Why don’t you check out all the other options? It was very troubling to discover how many people had such a disdain for Christianity. But I learned that the Gospel is foolishness to those who don’t believe it.

I wanted so much to show people, make them understand, God is real. I read books that gave evidence for the reality of the Gospel, that answered all the questions of skeptics. I wanted to have a way to back up what I believed. I would get into debates with people about God. I would defend Him because I had this new found love for Him.

I remember one particular argument that was quite heated. God hates sin. People don’t want to talk about sin. I said I believe the Bible is the true, inerrant word of God. I was slammed for saying the Bible is true. I never said I understood why God made the laws he made. They didn’t understand believing the Bible is an all or nothing. We can’t choose the parts we like and forgo the parts we don’t like. To do that is to create a god who doesn’t exist. Even society creates laws people don’t like, nevertheless, if I break the law I don’t like, I will still face the consequences. The judge isn’t going to care that I decided to break the law because I thought it was a stupid law.

In the beginning, I should not have said anything. I wasn’t equipped to give an appropriate answer. It took me months to realize how to stop myself from defending God. He is God! He doesn’t need any of us to defend Him.

My mom came to visit me that spring after I was saved. I talked to her almost everyday about Jesus and my new faith. She listened politely. She didn’t want to go to church with me. Like me, she was still mad at God for taking my dad from her. She also stopped going to church when he died. I felt helpless in trying to convince her God is real. All I could do was pray for her. I am still praying for her to see the truth.

I couldn’t even convince my boys. I got so sad when I couldn’t convince my own family, the people I loved, God is real. Robert and I argued about Him. He didn’t want to talk about Him at all and I cried. Robert got angry because I cried. I asked him how he thought I could sit back and do nothing to convince him of the truth. Would it be loving of me to say nothing? I just wanted everybody I know to go to heaven. Jesus is the way. What was so wrong with that? He apologized for being harsh.

The first time I invited my younger son, Galen, to church he turned me down. The only time he had ever been exposed to church was when he visited his father. Galen has only visited his father 3 times in all his 16 years of life. His father only calls him twice a year. The last time he saw his father, he was around 10 years old. He flew to California to visit him for about a week. His father was allegedly “born again” for some time. Now that I was born again, I had my doubts. He certainly didn’t show the actions of a person who is born again. He talks the talk, but doesn’t walk the walk. While Galen visited, his dad dragged him to church and forced him to get baptized. Galen had no clue what any of it meant. His memory of church was bad.

The next time I asked him to go to church with me, I didn’t have anyone to go with that day and didn’t want to go alone. He agreed to go. I promised him he wouldn’t have to do anything he didn’t want to do. I told him I just wanted him to learn about God. After that first time, he came with me regularly. At every service, I would always be hopeful and pray for his salvation. I’d ask him if he was ready and he’d say no. I’d ask him why and he’d tell me he didn’t want to commit his life to the Lord just because he was afraid of going to hell, a pretty wise thing coming from a boy. I finally stopped bugging him. I learned I can’t convince anyone God is real. Only God can do that. Only God can give us the ability to see Him and believe and be saved. All I could do was keep praying for him.

Six months later we went to church as usual. I can’t remember what the pastor taught that night, but he is one of the fiery pastors. He is a young guy, full of the Holy Spirit, old school, King James Version preacher. At the end of the service, there was an alter call. I hoped and prayed like I had so many weeks before for this to be the day of salvation for Galen. As the pastor was about to stop calling people forward, Galen said he was ready! October 16, 2006 was the second happiest day of my life and all the thanks go to God! He is so good!

Go to Chapter Nineteen