Real Hope: Radical TransformationSample

A Non-Damascus-Road Experience

When we receive Christ, the Holy Spirit comes to live in us. Our sins are forgiven, we receive eternal life, and we become a child of God. So momentous is it that I couldn’t grasp it all at once; it took time to sink in. Some months before, I had assessed my life. I concluded that the things most people were seeking – thrills and excitement, friendships, popularity and fame, financial security – couldn’t permanently satisfy the hunger in our hearts, and what I was looking for was peace, joy, a sense of destiny, and the security that I was going to be with God forever.

I didn’t have a Damascus Road experience. Instead, my commitment to Jesus was quite unemotional, but I did notice a peace within that I had not known before.

In those early months, what bothered me was seeing continued bad fruit and minimal good fruit in my life. Paul talked about his struggles dealing with desires that tried to pull him in the wrong direction and the victories over temptation when he relied on the power of Christ in him (Romans 7:18–25). I had to learn these things in those early years, and I still need to keep relying on God’s power today.

As an early mentor said, ‘When you received Christ, the tree’s roots were cut, but it takes time for the old fruit to fall off the branches. Your roots are now connected to Christ, and the good fruit will come.’ And when people started seeing the changes and asked me about them, I had a very valid opportunity to talk about Jesus.

Written by DAVID SMETHURST