I was brought up in a loving Christian home, but it may surprise you that didn’t make me a Christian – indeed far from it. 

My Dad was the town’s Baptist Minister, but instead of embracing the faith of my parents I just saw Christianity as a list of things that you could and could not do. To be truly free, I thought, was being able to enjoy the pleasures of life and being answerable to no one.

So, when I went away to study for my degree, I thought I was free at last! For a while it was so great. Now my lifestyle was all about living for the moment with excessive drinking and riotous behaviour.  That’s a great way to live or so I thought. Sadly, being the influence of drink resulted in me doing some terrible things and soon I began to realise I wasn’t free at all.

There is always a price to pay for living this kind of life and it will always catch up with you sooner or later. My best friend from these years tragically died an alcoholic recently and my story would have been similar but for the grace of God who is rich in mercy.

I realised that my life was empty without God but would He ever forgive me for all the wrong things that I had done? Some nights I used to shudder as I thought of where I would spend eternity if I suddenly died.

After getting my degree I returned home and started my first job for a local newspaper. It was there that I met my future wife Anita who was searching for God too. We got engaged and the Pastor of our local Evangelical church agreed to marry us. It was while attending one of the services that Jesus reached down His hand for me. I heard that it was for sinners like me that Jesus had died on the cross at Calvary and He would never turn away any sinner who would come to Him. He took the punishment of all my sins, my guilt and shame that I might go free!

I gave my heart to the Lord Jesus Christ that night and invited Him into my life as Lord and Saviour. Now I began to experience what true freedom really is. There is a verse in the Bible in John 8:36 that says “If the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed”. Jesus came to this world to give us life to the full and to satisfy the deepest needs of our soul. He puts eternity in our hearts and we will live with Him forever. Gone was all the regrets and the guilt and the shame of my previous life. Those sins are remembered by God no more because Jesus paid the price for me with His wonderful love.

Anita gave her heart to Jesus a few weeks later and our lives have been blessed with God’s love and peace. Life hasn’t always been plain sailing in the 34 years since and there will be storms in our lives, but Jesus has always given us the strength and peace within to get through the difficult times.