The Lord Jesus Christ Found Me
What is a Religious Pilgrimage? Noah Webster, the lexicographer, would first analyze the word definitions. The word religious means “devout; pious; of, or concerned with religion.” Religion relates to “belief in, and worship of God or gods.” Pilgrimage means “a journey made by a pilgrim to a shrine, or holy place.” A pilgrim is “a wanderer.” The premise of a Religious Pilgrimage would require that a journey be made by a pilgrim to a shrine, or holy place, in search of, or to worship God, or gods. I certainly could be described as a wanderer. I have spent most of my life traveling the far reaches of this planet, but always to chase glory for myself. (Webster’s New World Dictionary of the American Language [Webster], 1982)
I know in my own mind that I was never consciously seeking after God, religion or anything similar. I would be dishonest if I were to express anything less than the fact that I was totally self-indulgent. For much of my adult life I was the total embodiment of the stereotypical sailor. The first line from a tune I used to hum was “my hair hurts, my teeth stink, and I don’t love Jesus.” I drank, smoked, and my vocabulary was birthed in the gutter. I was a lousy husband and a poor father. War, death, and killing had hardened my exterior. Anger and lust were the only emotions in my life. Most of the time I was angry. If there was a god, I was his enemy! Therefore, the Religious Pilgrimage would be an inappropriate frame of reference from which to observe my life’s experiences.
It would be my contention that it was God who was seeking a relationship with me. He was the one who made all of the preparations for me to know him. He sought me out because he loved me, and he bought me with a redeeming sacrifice of his own blood. If there was any kind of a pilgrimage made, it was his. In my case, God, in his holiness, was in search of this lost wanderer. A slave trader, John Newton, penned an unforgettable hymn that described a lost wretch, in a peril from blindness, that was found and saved by an amazing grace. I will examine my notions from the framework of the Holy Scripture to see if they are indeed true.
It was a day that was different from all of the other days of my life. On a Wednesday evening inside a converted movie theater in Long Beach, California, I experienced something before which I had never known. For the first time in my life I felt grief over my sin. Not the remorse encountered when caught in a lie. It was a complete undoing of my emotions. I was overcome so completely that I was gasping for every breath. Becoming filled with pain and anguish; I wept uncontrollably. Somehow a light had shown on all of my life revealing a great cavern of emptiness. The ugliness that was the reality of my very being had been laid open before me to see for the first time in the illumination of truth. In a room filled with hundreds of people, I felt totally alone; I thought surely I was about to die. In the midst of the experience a flicker of hope bloomed in my thoughts. Hope gave way to love and became warmer. The Reverend Mister Kenny Foreman was visiting from San Jose, California. Pastor Foreman spoke and I felt as if his words were directed right at me. He said: “If God is speaking to your heart right now, please come to the front of the church so that we may talk.” My legs were like rubber, but somehow I managed to make it to where he was standing. I stood before him with my head bowed in shame; I could not muster the courage to look him in the eye. He gently placed his hands upon my cheeks and lifted my head to meet his gaze. In the face of this stranger I saw a great love that pierced my heart. I heard his voice as he began to speak, but the words echoed through me as if they came from within. He shared with me, for several minutes, words that I now know came from scripture. “We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way; and the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all” 1 , 2. This verse certainly describes me! I cannot imagine how I could have gone farther astray. “…for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God…” 3. “For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord” 4. Nothing but sin characterized my life thus far and I knew that I deserved death. “For he says, ‘In the time of my favor I heard you, and in the day of salvation I helped you. ’ I tell you, now is the time of God’s favor, now is the day of salvation” 5. I knew in my heart that God had prepared this day for me. Today was the day for me to choose and I felt that I dare not procrastinate. “…I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me” 6. The God of the universe was telling me that there was no other way but the way that he himself had prepared for me. “Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with him, and he with me” 7. This was his personal invitation to me. “Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God‒children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband's will, but born of God” 8. I was being born anew by the hand of God in some way I did not yet understand. “I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God so that you may know that you have eternal life” 9. He was giving me an assurance of life in eternity with him. “…The word is near you; it is in your mouth and in your heart… if you confess with your mouth, Jesus is Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved.…for, ‘Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved’” 10. With these words even explaining the necessity of my public confession of faith with my own voice.
With Pastor Foreman’s help, I prayed the prayer of a man that knew he stood condemned to an eternity in Hell. Apart from God’s divine intervention, I had no hope. I confessed that I was a sinner that deserved death for my sins. I stood there in need of a miracle. I asked the Lord Jesus Christ come into my life.
In the time that followed I noticed a change in my conscience. The many carnal activities that used to bring me pleasure now were unattractive and even painful. A great conflict was occurring in my life. I felt as if some unseen war was being fought inside me. Each day was a struggle for control of my own thoughts. I wanted very much to be a good Christian, but the harder I tried to be good the bigger my failure. I asked other believers how to become strong in the faith and received suggestions such as: read the Bible; pray; get involved in fellowship; and go to church regularly. I contemplated what they said, but it did not match what I saw in their lives. It appeared to me that they were struggling as much or more than I was. Questions of doubt entered my mind. Was this new found life of mine fact or fiction? Was my salvation experience real, or was it just some emotionally charged delusion? I had to find the answer.
I decided that there must be a way to discover more about God and my new found faith. I opened my newly purchased Bible and prayed “God please reveal yourself to me in a way that I can understand.” I began by reading the Gospel of John. I fell in love with his writing style right away. He let me know why he was writing this book. “Jesus did many other miraculous signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not recorded in this book. But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name” 11. I discovered that John wrote this book so that I would be convinced that believing that Jesus is the Christ would give me life. In the very first chapter he describes the Lord Jesus Christ as “The Word.” And that “The Word” created all things. In the book of Romans I deduced that the Gospel was God’s power for salvation. 12 I perceived that God must have written this book. There was no way that man would have written it even if he could have. We would have left out all of the awful details. Yet in the Bible I found the good, the bad, and the ugly there for anyone to see.
As I began to learn the habit of searching the Scriptures daily, I found that many names referred to God. It was a discovery filled with excitement because God’s word was speaking to me. In the New Testament I found that Jesus Christ embodies God’s name explicitly. He is called “the Word” in the first chapter of the Gospel of John 13, and Jesus himself makes the claim that he has revealed the name of God 14. In the Old Testament I encountered one of the names for God, “Yahweh.” When Moses was in the presence of the burning bush, he was wondering about God’s name. He was told, “I am who I am,” 15 that is what Yahweh means. The introductory pages in the front of my bible explained that most English Bibles translate this as “Jehovah.” I discovered the name Jehovah was used with other words that gave me insight into his character. Two of the examples I found are: Jehovah-Jireh, “The Lord will Provide,” and Jehovah-Nissi “The Lord is my Banner.” (IDC,1982) I felt that somehow the name of God held the key to my comprehending him. His name is a personal disclosure to me and reveals his relationship with his people. God’s name became known to me only because he chose to reveal it. In his name I found his hidden purpose in my life revealed. The name Jesus is a contraction of the name Jehesua, or Joshua. Jesus then means, “I am your salvation.” (Pink, 1979) This mysterious, majestic, and seemingly unapproachable being had identified himself as my salvation by merely revealing his name. (Pink, 1979) When the Apostle Paul said, “All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work,” 16 he had truly said a mouthful.
The Bible portrays God as the personal architect of the universe, praiseworthy because of his holy character and faultless love that is revealed in creation, in choosing and redeeming his people, and affording eternal salvation through His Son Jesus Christ. (Edwards, 1994) I realized that God is matchless in the cosmos. No other person, place, thing, or idea can I equate to God. Anything that I am allowed to know or discover about God is based upon revelation of himself to me. As I enter into discussion about God, I reasoned that I must use human language to describe that which defies description. I have concluded that God’s reality is eternally abundantly more immense than my human mind can apprehend or articulate. (Edwards, 1994)
As I continued my daily reading, I ascertained that the principal subject of the Scripture is God. The Bible and history begin with God 17. The last chapter of the Bible describes God as the “…Alpha and Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End” (Rev. 22:13). I decided that God is predominant in the entirety of Scripture. As a Christian I find this comforting, emancipating, and enlightening. It reassures me that God is in control of the universe. How liberating it is to realize that the loving, and redeeming God seeks to set me free. I am illuminated to be able to see the signs of God’s existence throughout this universe of his creation. (Wilmington, 1977) I theorize that God is somehow uniquely present in this world and never separated from any part of the universe. He is omnipresent. The psalmist exclaimed, “Where can I go from your Spirit? Where can I flee from your presence? If I go up to the heavens, you are there; if I make my bed in the depths, you are there” 18. It is my interpretation that the prophet Isaiah looked for the Messiah to be named Emmanuel, meaning, "God with us"; and that Matthew reported God’s fulfillment of that promise in the person of Jesus Christ the Lord19. It is my determination that at the end of time God will make his presence even more clear because he will live with his people 20. (Wilmington, 1977)
I learned that the Bible talks about the presence of God in two ways: (1) In a physical sense Moses experienced his presence on Mount Sinai 21; Isaiah, in the Jerusalem Temple 22 ; and Paul, on the road to Damascus 23. (2) In relationships. He called Israel to be his people 24. He spoke to the prophet Elijah in a "still, small voice" 25. God appeared in human flesh as a man named Jesus Christ. (Edwards, 1994)
I determined that Christ reveals all the mysteries of God that I can know. “…Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father” 26. If I wished to know more of God, I needed to study Christ through the witness of the Scripture and the instruction of the Holy Spirit. Still, I reasoned that Christ lives in me, an idea that remains mysterious 27. My faith believes that the portion, which is still hidden in mystery, is entirely consistent with what has been revealed in Christ. (McDowell, 1992)
The Bible narrative reveals Christ to me, and allows me to describe God, but not to define him. I could say that God is the holy being, who is the embodiment of love, in the form a servant. This however, was concluded from statements like: “…for the LORD our God is holy” 28; “…God is love” 29. These contain partial descriptions, not definitions. I have concluded that Jesus defined himself when he said, “For who is greater, the one who is at the table or the one who serves? Is it not the one who is at the table? But I am among you as one who serves” 30 . I believe the Apostle Paul echoes this by saying: “For we do not preach ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, and ourselves as your servants for Jesus’ sake” 31.
I ascertained that Jehovah is the only God, not the greatest of many gods. He is the only true and living God. This separates him from all other plastic, fantastic gods, idols, and ideas that my mind can conjure up 32. As a Christian, I see this in Jesus, and I join the Apostle Peter in confessing, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God” 33. (Miethe, 1984)
Man, I decided, is part of God’s universe, created in his divine image. “When I consider your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have set in place, what is man that you are mindful of him, the son of man that you care for him? You made him a little lower than the heavenly beings and crowned him with glory and honor” 34. Nevertheless, while looking at the evening news, I can see that this is now a marred image. Mankind, I have decided, is defined by the features that integrate all persons despite their diversities and incorporate them as God’s “image.” The Bible describes a grand collection of the actions, attitudes, thoughts, feelings, sins and successes of mankind. If I assess these collectively, I believe it gives me a biblical point of view on human nature. (IDB, 1982) I have concluded this nature is in a diametrically opposed contrast to the image of God. Nevertheless, the Bible states that man was created in God’s image 35. I concluded, by consulting my Bible dictionary, that theologians have considered that this "image" defines what is most crucial to human nature. Many of them have argued that the image was reason. I find that although Scripture depicts humans as thinking creatures, it is more accurate to suggest that this image consists in mankind’s lordship over and stewardship of creation 36. (IDB, 1982) I theorize that this image was marred because of sin. Not as a simple breach of a divine command as it may first appear in the story of the fall 37. It lies, I have concluded, in the propensity I have for turning away from the relationship that God has initiated, and therefore from God himself. In this act of turning away, I am turning toward the gods of this world. I am, as a human being, not an isolated individual, and my sin is not simply my own individual transgression. My sin manifests itself in my attitudes, behaviors, and religious beliefs that are opposed to God. I was made in his image, for a relationship with him but sin severed it. Sin also distorted my social and ecological relationships. My sin is my individual responsibility. (IDB, 1982)
However, what is the answer to my dilemma? I wanted to live a life that honors Christ but was failing at every turn! The answer lies in one of the verses I learned the night of my salvation. “…I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me” 38. It appears to me that a way addresses a continuous walk, not a completed blessing. A step repeated, with each moment a new happening. The way upon which I am to walk is Jesus Christ himself! “And a highway will be there; it will be called the Way of Holiness. The unclean will not journey on it; it will be for those who walk in that Way” 39. (Hession, 1993) My first questions to other believers were answered with advice for prayer, Bible study, church attendance, and fellowship. However, these things are not the way. Jesus is the way. On each side of this highway of holiness are the swamps of sin. (Hession, 1993) I call one Arrogance and the other Passivity. I fall into the ditch of arrogance when I strive in my own strength to live a holy life. I fall into the ditch of passivity when I expect the Lord to drag me along the way.
Affirming this theory are the words of the Apostle Paul in Romans Chapter 7. I agree with him that with the “law of my mind” I try to obey “God's law,” but the “law of sin” gives me only one choice and that is to fail. Where can I go from here? “…through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit of life set me free from the law of sin and death” 40. A new law is in effect in my life. The law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set me free from the power of sin and death (paraphrase mine) 41. I have concluded that I am no longer obligated to sin. If I sin, it is because I choose to sin. So, what happens if I sin and fall into the ditch? My buddy, the Apostle John, comes through again! “My dear children, I write this to you so that you will not sin. But if anybody does sin, we have one who speaks to the Father in our defense—Jesus Christ, the Righteous One” 42. “But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin” 43. “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness” 44 I believe that confession is not just the act of moving my lips, but asking God to do a work in my heart that will allow me to see myself, and my sin, the way he does. “Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me” 45. “Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting” 46.
What about temptation? What do I do when I am tempted to do those things that are a part of my old nature? I believe that the God who saved me has prepared a way of escape. “No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it” 47. “Because he himself suffered when he was tempted, he is able to help those who are being tempted” 48. “For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet was without sin. Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need” 49. Jesus remains the answer to all of my questions. He had made for me a way to have fellowship with him and with his Church. In my daily life he has promised to provide for me all that I require. “And my God will meet all your needs according to his glorious riches in Christ Jesus” 50. I have been adopted into the family of God as an heir to live in heaven with my blessed Savior. “So you are no longer a slave, but a son; and since you are a son, God has made you also an heir” 51. It does not get any better than this!
As I have said from the beginning, I am not, nor have I ever been, on a Religious Pilgrimage. I am not wandering because the Lord Jesus Christ is my anchor. He sought me out, and he purchased me with his own blood. He lives in me and I am his holy temple. I have no need to wander in search of some holy place. I have but to go in “the Way,” for Jesus is my way. The purpose of my daily travel is to seek my brothers and sisters who have not yet been found. “Then Jesus came to them and said, ‘All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age’” 52
References
Edwards, J. (1994). The treatise on God’s last end in the creation. Carlisle, PA: The Banner of Truth Trust.
Hession, R., (1993). We would see Jesus. Fort Washington, PA: Christian Literature Crusade.
Holy Bible: New international version. (1978). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan.
McDowell, J., (1992). The best of Josh McDowell: A ready defense. San Bernardino, CA: Here’s Life.
Miethe, T. L., (1984). The new Christian’s guide to following Jesus. Minneapolis, MN: Bethany House.
Pink, A. W., (1979). Gleanings in the godhead. Chicago: Moody.
The interpreter’s dictionary of the Bible. (1982). Nashville, TN: Abington Press.
Webster’s new world dictionary of the American Language. (1982). New York: Warner Books.
Wilmington, H. L., (1977). The doctrine of the father. Lynchburg, VA: Liberty University.
Footnotes
1 All quotations from the Holy Scripture shall be from the New International Version listed on the Reference page. The scripture reference numbers will be listed as footnotes next to direct quotations or illusions to avoid unnecessary distraction during the reading of the text.
2 Isaiah 53:6
3 Romans 3:23
4 Romans 6:23
5 2 Corinthians 6:2
6 John 14:6
7 Revelation 3:20
8 John 1:12-13
9 1 John 5:13
10 Romans 10:8-10, 13
11 John 20:30-31
12 Romans 1:16, “I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes: first for the Jew, then for the Gentile.”
13 John 1:1, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.”
14 John 17:6, “I have revealed you to those whom you gave me out of the world. They were yours; you gave them to me and they have obeyed your word.”
15 Exodus 3:14, “God said to Moses, ‘I AM WHO I AM. This is what you are to say to the Israelites: I AM has sent me to you.’”
16 2 Timothy 3:16-17
17 Genesis 1:1, “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.”
18 Psalms 139:7-8
19 Isaiah 7:14; Matthew 1:23
20 Revelation 21:3, “And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, ‘Now the dwelling of God is with men, and he will live with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God.’”
21 Exodus 3
22 Isaiah 6
23 Acts 9
24 Exodus 19:3-6
25 1 Kings 19:12
26 John 14:9
27 Romans 16:25-26; Ephesians 3:1-10; Colossians 1:24-27; 4:2-4
28 Psalms 99:9
29 1 John 4:8
30 Luke 22:27
31 2 Corinthians 4:5
32 Isaiah 41:22-24; Jeremiah 10:10; 1 Thessalonians 1:9
33 Matthew 16:16
34 Psalms 8:3-5
35 Genesis 1:27, “So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.”
36 Genesis 1:28-31, “God blessed them and said to them, “Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air and over every living creature that moves on the ground.’ Then God said, ‘I give you every seed-bearing plant on the face of the whole earth and every tree that has fruit with seed in it. They will be yours for food. And to all the beasts of the earth and all the birds of the air and all the creatures that move on the ground—everything that has the breath of life in it—I give every green plant for food.’ And it was so. God saw all that he had made, and it was very good. And there was evening, and there was morning—the sixth day.”
37 Genesis 3
38 John 14:6
39 Isaiah 35:8
40 Romans 8:2
41 Romans 8:1-2
42 1 John 2:1
43 1 John 1:7
44 1 John 1:9
45 Psalms 51:10
46 Psalms 139:23-24
47 1 Corinthians 10:13
48 Hebrews 2:18
49 Hebrews 4:15-16
50 Philippians 4:19
51 Galatians 4:7
52 Matthew 28:18-20