What It’s Like to Meet Jesus
And how it changed my life…
The only way to describe it as “meeting.” Because Jesus isn’t some theoretical idea or fantasy. He’s not sci-fi, he’s a guy. (it rhymes).
So here’s the deal: I was raised in the Catholic Church. I no longer consider myself a Catholic (I consider myself non-denominational), but that is a story for another time. But, many times priests would come by and tell people about vocations to the priesthood. They would always say that they “heard from God.” As a kid, I was pretty interested from this. As a kid, I also thought they literally heard from God. Like:
“Hey bro, become a priest.”
Over the years, I realized this wasn’t how, but that there was some way that they felt called. Sidenote: most people outside of the Catholic church call them “Testimonies.” I started asking priests about it, but got the kind of answers that are not really answers. For example, “you might know one day,” or “like nothing I ever heard before.” One of the huge problems with this is that it totally dodges an opportunity to share the good news (Gospel) with somebody who is interested, replaced with illogical mumbo-jumbo. Hearing the gospel is an experience like few others. Hearing “God speaks to you,” and providing no stories, lessons, or information is an experience like all others. Any religion can do that and most religion do do that.
This is not going to be my full testimony. But, it is a portion of my testimony. The portion of where I actually felt God’s presence in my life and where I met Jesus.
Backstory
After I renounced God before high school (a story for another day), I began to align myself with new dreams and essentially, worship new powers. Despite being raised in the church, I never really heard the gospel (I never chose to listen) and my relationship with my church was a matter of tradition. So, I soon became obsessed with money and influence. Now, I still consider myself passionate on money, but it shifted from billionaire power to financial stability and being hyper-generous.
But, that’s a bit of foreshadowing. Backtracking a bit, I spent most of my high school chasing this passion quite unsuccessfully. I made money and power the root of most decisions that I made. At the end of high school, I started to become intrigued by religion. Then, I started having some nightmares that took over my life and forced me to start thinking about religion. Now, I am a very obsessive learner and religion is pretty deep rooted. What I mean is that things got heated fast.
And many people that call themselves “Christians” are terrible people. How can these people really love Jesus? What a joke? Eventually, I had to give up these conversations because they made me crazy. Then, I met Mr. Rogers.
Viewing Mr. Rogers
I’m still not sure how I stumbled upon Mr. Rogers, but I did. And it blew my mind.
Whether you realize this or not, Mr. Rogers is also an ordained Christian minister. He did not professional minister, but many (including myself) believe that he was a minister through television. The practices that he spoke about are deeply rooted as Christian and better than that, he lived those principles.
Mr. Rogers was the first person that I really saw who was living for Christ. He lived his beliefs in every aspect even when they were uncomfortable. He did what so many Christians haven’t. For the first time in my life, I saw what it was like to live a lifestyle of Christianity. And in that moment, I opened my heart to Jesus.
Christ Enters
Unlike many other times, I felt a call to Christianity which I was very hesitant to respond to. I simply implied that I was using Christianity to substitute for problems in my life. I became immensely intrigued by these things and then I walked away. I felt a call on my life, jumped into the communities, and then walked away. I felt on my heart that I was being called to this, but that eventually I was going to have to dedicate or not. And for a long time, I didn’t.
I know this might seem crazy, but I felt that I just wasn’t at that point where I was going to call myself a Jesus follower. There is a lot of change required to live such a lifestyle and even though I felt his presence, following Jesus demands change.
But unlike other thoughts, this one never leaves. For years. This battle rages on. It is a battle you never win. And for me, I remember when I laid down, surrendered, and felt God come in fully.
I Get It
And that is when I realized one of my biggest misconceptions was totally inaccurate. Before coming to Christ was an amazing story and how my life has changed is amazing story. But the decision to follow Christ, while profound, was short.
When I first met Christ, it was simple, powerful, and short. But when you meet him, you get to know him at every moment. You see him walking down the street, in the homeless man who you used to think was below you, and in smiles everywhere.
You can see Jesus in the good moments and the bad moments. But you only get to see these things when you get to know Jesus. You don’t get to see the Jesus when you don’t let him in.
For example, if you had a friend who made really good brownies (I’m looking for a friend of this nature) and you didn’t allow them to hang out with you, you wouldn’t expect brownies. But so many do. Many people feel that they are entitled to the abilities of God whilst also banning God. And unlike most people, God still leads them to a relationship with him. I don’t make good brownies, but if I did, and somebody was rude to me, I probably would not be giving them brownies.
But when you allow Christ in truly, it changes everything. Let me tell you one story before I let you go.
Losing my Grandfather
When I renounced my “faith” at the age of 13, it was after the loss of a very close friend due to suicide. And while I will tell that story one day, death lingers around me very painfully. The idea can follow me around and when my grandfather passed away recently, very suddenly, I became cautious. I knew that I had to protect my relationship with Jesus.
But I was wrong. Instead, my relationship with Jesus protected me. That was one of the hardest weekends of my life for myself and my family. I thought that I would break multiple times, but I prayed for unbreakable strength for a few days and felt as if my heart was set on fire. Not only did I get through, but I truly helped my family and brought my family into a safer place. However, it was not just me. It was the strength of Jesus and God.
This is what is truly means. It isn’t some fairy tale that we say or some dopamine-induced relationship despite scientific proof that a faith in God releases certain drugs in your mind. Why do I think this is more? Because I have experienced it and know the science better than most. In the worst moments, after prayers for strength, I felt God’s presence in my own strength.
I have seen it in my feelings towards others and and the ways that I handle specific situations. It is the air that I breathe, the water that I drink, and the tether between myself and something more.
Jesus truly is the fount of all holiness. And in his presence flows things that I have never felt before. I encourage you to choose to meet Jesus. The real Jesus.
NS
