When I came to faith in Christ over sixty years ago, my life was a spiritually unhealthy mess. I knew nothing about the true message of the Gospel. I was raised in a church and believed there was a God who created everything, but I had no understanding of redemption. I didn’t see myself as a bad person.
However, in 1964, although I was thriving in my military career, my family was falling apart. I was in complete denial about my addictions because I had masked them as pleasures. I wasn’t doing anything illegal or out of step with the friends I had. It didn’t matter to me that some of their marriages had failed, but when mine was crumbling apart, I knew I needed help.
Out of that crisis, I realized I needed someone to guide me. God sent a man into my life to show me the way and point me to reality. My illusion of thinking I was not a bad person was over. I met Jesus’ qualifications as a sinner, and He was eager to help me. All I needed to do was admit the truth and ask for help, and He did the rest.
What has turned out to be a surprise is that now, sixty years later, my same ego that tried to keep me from facing my addictions is still trying to keep me from going deeper in my walk with the Lord. I’m still a work in progress, and only by God’s grace can I face my old, corrupt nature and live life God’s way instead of man’s way.