As a child, I went to church with my parents and attended certain “religious classes” but never understood anything I was taught about God. I remember hearing Jesus was God’s Son who died on a cross, but nothing about that information resonated with me. It simply went in one ear and out the other, and I honestly did not care.
The scattered facts I heard about Jesus over the years never changed my heart or transformed my mind because they never included the gospel message, which is “the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes” (Romans 1:16).
When I reached my teens, I dethroned Jesus from God’s Son to a random spirit floating around the universe doing who knows what, and I sinned without restraint as a result.
However, that all changed when I heard the gospel message and read the Bible for the first time in my early twenties.
Suddenly, everything made sense! What was unimportant nonsense to me previously about Jesus was now life-giving and life-changing! The Holy Spirit worked tirelessly to plunge God’s truths into my soul and powerfully convinced my mind and heart to believe them—and it worked!
I surrendered my life to Jesus by faith not long afterward. Immediately, the Holy Spirit transformed my spirit and renewed my mind, enabling me to understand what I was blinded to previously because of unbelief (1 Corinthians 2:14).
I share this story to encourage you never to underestimate God’s Word or the gospel’s power to transform someone’s heart and renew their mind. Romans 1:17 says, “For in the gospel the righteousness of God is revealed—a righteousness that is by faith from first to last, just as it is written: “The righteous will live by faith.” So, keep sharing the good news!
