‘I want to be in the army’ the young boy said boldly to the lady at the desk enrolling the men for Soviet Army.
‘You are not on our list. You can’t be part of it. Go home boy!’ replied the woman with a stern voice.
Creative in nature, troublemaker at heart, soon the young lad finds himself in the USSR army, in the Rocket Brigade called ‘Earth to Earth’ . His task was to prep the ground for rockets to be launched toward Turkey and other places, if they dared to make Russia unhappy.
After two difficult adventurous years in the USSR army, he goes home.
Raised in a God-fearing home. Yet, as a young adult living in a communistic country was hard to stick to church.
He was known as the village leader of the ‘boxing’ crew. He was not the instigator of a fight. But, if the wrong words were said to him, in the wrong tone of voice, people were risking to be put to the ground with a fist fight.
This lifestyle, as you can imagine, led to numerous occasions of encounter with law enforcement. Petite in size, but with a heavy punch, this young man ended up with his buddy for ten days behind bars. Only ten days, just because of God’s grace.
Released from prison, they walked 15 miles on foot to get home. As they were walking back from prison, their friends were walking back from church.
Tired of bringing shame to his family, he chose to go to the city and get a job.
An old buddy of his worked there. Everyone feared his friend. He was massive, strong, and authoritative. Only at the mention of his name others were frightened. He was the image every boy dreamed of.
On Friday, the two friends said goodbye and parted ways. On Monday, this young boy returned to work to only find out that his mighty friend, he always looked up to, was gone. He had died falling from the top of his roof, because he had grabbed onto an unprotected electric wire.
This painful and confusing experience stirred up his heart. How could a twenty year old boy die so soon?
A few days later, he noticed a guy listening to a sermon on the radio. This was against the law. But, he wanted to hear as well what was being said.
It was the end of a sermon, with a crucial question “If this is your last evening you live, do you know where you go next?”
“No, I don’t.” replied the scared young boy, as if the preacher asked him directly.
Soon after that, he went to church and mumbled a few words in an attempt to pray. No one paid attention to what he said, or did. But, on that specific summer day, he had invited Christ in his heart. A burst of joy filled his chest. “If I had wings, I would fly with this radiant joy that I have never experienced before” shared the boy with the person standing next to him, looking at him with indifference.
The following day, his friends could tell that he had changed. They called him crazy because he wouldn’t stop telling people about this hard-to-explain joy.
Nothing could stop him from sharing that first love he felt for God. No shame of friends ridiculing him, no fear of KGB punishing him, NOTHING seemed more sweet than to talk about this Jesus that changed him completely.
This young trouble-maker boy became a strong evangelist, a church planter, and an awesome dad to me and my brothers.
Evangelism for him is a lifestyle, not a pastoral duty during Revival Week. I don’t know anyone more creative in his approach to evangelism, more bold in sharing his faith, more on fire for Jesus to this day even after so many years in ministry.
Launching a challenge
My coming-to-Christ story is not as fascinating as my dad’s (that’s why I shared his). Sometimes I wish I could borrow some of his details to spice up my own storyline.
God doesn’t expect us to WOW people with our marvellous tales. He simply wants for us to joyfully and boldly share HIS story, even if sometimes this might entail using our name as a simple illustration of His love and grace in our life as part of the God story.
Do you still have that passion in you, that first love for God, that eagerness to tell everyone the God story, the urgency that we’re running out of time?
More sermons need to be preached to wake up comfortable believers sitting down in their spiritual recliner with feet up, and remote control in their hand as mere spectators of life, or simply snoozing till the great awakening.
More Christians need to stand up from their pews of comfort zone where they carved their name in boredom for so long, and move around. Change seats. Rub elbows with someone new at church. Get involved in the community. Serve and share with those God strategically placed in your path.
“Take the helmet of salvation…” Ephesians 6:17a
The helmet, although placed at the outskirt of the list, it’s at the core of the armour.
Maybe we are safe, with the helmet of salvation on, but how about those around us?
How intentional are we in assisting others to find their helmet to put it on?
When was the last time you talked to someone about Jesus?
Is evangelism a lifestyle, or an occasional church event?
Do you feel equipped to share the gospel?
In conclusion
The helmet of salvation should generate dramatic change in our life (inward, then outward).
The helmet of salvation should trigger inexplicable joy in our chest, even if life’s not all Hollywood depicts it to be.
The helmet of salvation should move us to see evangelism as a lifestyle, not a church event, or pastoral duty.
May Christ enable us to do so. Amen!