How does an atheist become a Christian?
This is a question I've been asked a lot over the years. For me, it went like this:
Well, till I was 19 I thought that God was a fairytale for the uneducated people to believe-fine for them (even though I thought they had been duped) but definitely not for me...I was in engineering college and had always had teachers tell me that I was in the "cream of the crop". I came from a home where "religion" was never taught, so I got the idea that God was a fairytale from my schooling and what I had seen happening around me. However, I wasn't satisfied with life and thought if I could only be rich I could then buy things to make me happy. I pursued mechanical engineering because, at the time (1991-before the internet took off) it was the most prosperous engineering field and would make me rich quick. All I had to do was do 3 more years of schooling and I was home free.
Well, that year I was a sophomore in college and the course work began to get really tuff. I was studying all the time and it didn't seem my grades were doing too well. I would worry all the time that I was going to flunck out of engineering and not meet my dream of being rich. I was miserable and didn't see an end to my misery. I found time on the weekends to go to the usual bar scene and get drunk or high-that gave me some satisfaction, but the next morning I was back to worrying and feeling miserable. By this time I was thinking about suicide.
At the same time (1991), my girl of 6 months as well as a friend for a year and a half, started talking to me about God like He is somebody real. She was really secure with life, and because I had a great deal of respect for her I listened intently to what she said (if it was anybody else telling me that God was real I woulda laughed). She made me think about the future as she asked me,
"What r u gonna buy that will satisfy u.....what can u buy that will make u happy??"
I could think of nothing then (and still havent't), so I said nothing. She told me that the security she had came from God. I asked her how she knew God was real. She told me that she just knew it in her heart and that I could too (if I REALLY wanted to know) if I asked God from my heart-or prayed. She asked me to ask God every nite for 3 nites before I go to bed and see what happens. Well, at first I didn't think much did happen-it wasn't like God spoke to me. But in my heart, I felt a change. Suddenly I just knew that God was real. Unfortunately, I was still a worrying mess and felt miserable.
Then my girlfriend asked me to go to a meeting she was putting together called 'Creation Vs. Evolution'-a video showing by Campus Crusade for Christ. At first I was thinking 'no way'...and when I found out that I had a physics test at the same time as the program I figured that would get me out. I forgot about the program, and then took my test a couple days later. I finished up my test kinda early and then decided to stop by my girlfriend's place and found that her 'Creation Vs. Evolution' program was about to start. I stayed (outta respect) and watched this video-I got interested in the discussion as I saw scientists who were Christians talking about the scientific evidence for Creation and other evidence that disproved Evolution. I went to public schools all my life and had been taught Evolution like it was a fact-I didn't know anything about Creation, though. I started feeling like I was the one who was duped-not Christians-because I had been spoon fed lies by school all my life-these places never told me that the evidence for evolution had been subsequently discredited. Suddenly, I didn't feel like I knew it all and wanted to know more about a God that could change my life.
I was given a Bible by the guy showing the video. As worrying about passing upcoming final exams set in the next day, I figured I'd read the Bible when I had time-after exams. When finals were over and I went home for Christmas break-I took that Bible. Anyway, I went home and again prayed silently to God that He would give me assurance in my heart again if the Bible was from Him. This time it didn't take 3 times-right away I knew that the Bible was God's way of showing people who He is-Jesus.
I read the preface of this Bible and it explained how God loves everyone and wants a full life for all people. This is shown in John 3:16 where
Jesus says, "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in him should not perish, but have eternal life."
Unfortunately my problem, along with everyone in the whole world, is that sin (or rebellious thoughts or actions) have separated me from God, and so I could not experience God's love. Romans 3:23 says
"for all have sinned, and fall short of the glory of God"
and Romans 6:23 says
"For the wages of sin is death; but the free gift of God is eternal life".
These were the first time that I had seen these Bible verses, but they made total sense and for the first time I understood how low on the food chain I really was. It was like I was separated from God by a big canyon-the Grand Canyon-and I couldn't get across to God. A really good person couldn't even jump it on a motorbike-he was just as separated from God as I was. We both needed to be saved.
Then I saw that the good news was found in Jesus. He became a sturdy "bridge" across that canyon so that I, or anybody that crossed the bridge, could get to God. In fact the Bible says the Jesus did this when I was spitting in His face saying, "your just a fairytale". Romans 5:8 puts it this way,
"But God shows his own love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us."
Jesus also said,
"I am the way, and the truth, and the life: no one comes to the Father, but by me."
This preface of the Bible went on to tell me that it's not enough just to understand my condition (and all of mankind's), but that I needed to do something. One thing-believe Jesus. Romans 10:9-10 says it like this,
"because if you shall confess with your mouth Jesus [as] Lord, and shall believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you shall be saved: for with the heart man believes unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation."
Then I simply said a little prayer, in my bedroom, expressing the desire of my heart. It went like this:
"Lord Jesus, I need you. Thank you for dying on the cross for my sins. I open the door of my life and receive you as my Savior and Lord. Thank you for forgiving my sins and giving me eternal life. Take control of the throne of my life. Make me the kind of person you want me to be."
First I knew in my heart that everything was going to be OK. There was nothing that I had to worry about-Jesus is in control. Within a week I saw my life do a 180 as I saw my filthy language go away and I soon saw my drinking and drugs go away too. It was Jesus or nothing. I started reading the Gospel of John and asked Jesus to make me more and more like Him. Then I went on reading the rest of the Bible and applied it to my life (I'm still doing that now). I went back to college and got involved with Campus Crusade for Christ for the next 3 years at West Virginia University and grew in the Lord as Campus Crusade for Christ taught me about Jesus from the Bible.
That was back in 1992-things haven't always been easy. In fact, one might say that my life appears to more difficult now then before I became a Christian. My parents got divorced right after I became a Christian (without Jesus, that in itself woulda pushed me over the edge) and after college I went through years of under and unemployment. Jesus was there, and continues to be there, through all my difficulties and assures me that it's all gonna be ok. He's in contol of everything. He says 'chill', or like Psalm 46:10 puts it,
"Be still, and know that I am God: I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth"
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