Spiritual Autobiography

All of this happened when I was 16 years old. That means that I have been disciple of Jesus for 40 years now. I became a Christian when I was five or six, but I didn’t become a disciple until I was 16. A disciple is someone who tries to do what Jesus said to do. He studies it. He thinks about it. He prays about it. And then he tries to live like that.

Let me give you an example. A couple of years ago I got into a power struggle with some of my employees. They went behind my back and told my boss some lies about me. They really hurt my feelings. When the boss investigated, she found out that they were lying, and we dealt with that situation. But I remember my boss saying to me, “Can you continue to work with these people who have treated you so badly? Should I try and assign you to another house?”

And I said, “It’s not going to be a problem.” And it wasn’t. Here’s why. Jesus told me to forgive them. You’ve heard his instructions on the matter, I’m sure. It’s in the Lord’s prayer. “Forgive us our debts (sins) as we forgive our debtors (those who sin against us).” In other words, Jesus said that I should pray to be forgiven to the same extent that I forgive others. I don’t know about you, but I want to be forgiven for everything; but that means I am supposed to forgive everyone in my life who does me wrong.

In the sermon on the mount He told us to love our enemies and to pray for those who do us wrong. I have learned to apply that literally. If I am upset at someone, I try and say a little prayer for them everything I become aware of anger or resentment against them. “God, please bless and protect so and so in everything they do today.” If you pray that little prayer consistently you will find that resentment will begin to fade away. The point is, I did exactly what He said to do and it worked.

I didn’t do this because I saw it on Oprah. I didn’t do this because I read it in a self help book. I did it because I am a follower of Jesus Christ. I did it because Jesus spoke with God’s infinite, perfect wisdom. I did it because Jesus is my boss (that’s pretty much what the word Lord means). For forty years I have been trying to connect every part of my life to what is taught in the Bible.

I haven’t always succeeded. I have a lot that I needed forgiveness for. But I keep on keeping on, trying to become more and more like Jesus. I have never regretted trying to live like this.

To be continued . . .