Robert Kurtz, Link staff in Spain, relays this amazing testimony... 2008-03-17
Is everyone inherently sinful? Is Jesus the only way to God? Is the Bible historically accurate? These are just some of the questions that college students wrestle with today in our relativistic culture. Here's the miraculous story of one such student in Spain, Juan, who sets out to find the answers with great success!
The students and I had just finished our núcleo Bible study of a section of Luke chapter 2, and all the rest of the guys in the study had to go to class. Juan and I stayed in the university cafeteria to talk until his next class. As usual, he started sharing with me his doubts and concerns about fully believing in Jesus as the one and only savior of the world, and of Juan himself. I make it a point to listen to Juan fully as he talks about his doubts. After all, doubts are real, and they affect us all at one point or another. To say, "Just believe and ignore your doubts!" is to create a very unstable foundation for a life of faith. I believe that it is important to acknowledge doubts, to try to work through them reasonably, and then give the Holy Spirit a chance to impact us through the Word of God.
After listening to Juan's concerns, I tried to provide some illustrations to help him put them in perspective, but ultimately I turned to a section of Scripture and had him read it aloud to himself. This was like watching a hammer shatter stone. I could literally see the impact that the Word of God was having on his heart! After he read a bit of Romans 7 where Paul describes his own struggle with sin and concludes by saying, "What a wretched man am I!!!" (v24) Juan turned to me and said, "Éste versiculo me ha hecho polvo," which literally means "this verse has made me dust" and essentially communicates being "undone" by something. For Juan to realize that the Apostle Paul considered himself a wretched man meant that Juan himself couldn't be any better.
I shared an illustration with Juan that helped him to see that the only thing that can bridge the gap between God and mankind (be it Mother Theresa, Hitler, or the Apostle Paul) is the infinitely effective sacrifice of Jesus on the cross. I then had Juan read Psalm 51:16-17 where David makes it clear that God doesn't delight in our works, but in our brokenness and recognition of our need for His help. He was visibly moved, since it showed him the clear need not for religious expressions to God, but for restored relationship with God.
The "final blow" came when I had the impression that Juan needed confirmation that God was speaking directly to him through these Scriptures. I had Juan read, "For the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart. Nothing in all creation is hidden from God's sight. Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of him to whom we must give account" from Hebrews chapter 4.
Silence.
There was about half a minute of silence, and then tears welled up in his eyes. At a loss for words, and under the conviction of the Holy Spirit, Juan excused himself to go to the bathroom to compose himself. When he returned I said to him, "I think it's clear that the reason that these verses are impacting you so much is because God is speaking them directly to your heart! In any case, I've only been pointing you to them, and you've been "hecho polvo" just by reading them--not by any additional persuasive arguments from me." He agreed.
I asked Juan if he wanted to finally give his life to Jesus and communicated the need to do so clearly and aloud (Romans 10:10). He wasn't quite sure how to do that, so I asked him to repeat after me as I helped him pray to God. After a few sentences, Juan took over and began to pray aloud by himself, confessing his sin, acknowledging his need of Jesus' sacrifice, accepting Jesus as Lord of his life, and dedicating himself to strive to live out a life of discipleship with the help of God. I was nearly moved to tears to see how clearly and majestically God moved that afternoon.
Our time ended and we went our separate ways with the intent to start meeting regularly to work through an excellent discipleship course. For my part, I went home that day with a big smile on my face reflecting on the fact that our God truly is mighty to save! Join me in rejoicing with our new brother in the faith!
