I grew up going to Roman Catholic Church. I went through all the motions but understood none of the meaning. I’d constantly ask my mom why I had to do all of the “stuff” and confess my “sins” to some stranger in a confessional booth. It felt hollow and mechanical. I left that tradition the moment I turned 18, determined to forge my own path.
But life has a way of humbling us. I got married at 20, had my first son at 22, and despite my best intentions, I found myself repeating the exact patterns I’d grown up resenting. Generational brokenness is devastatingly real. Another son came two years later, and after 10 years of marriage, I was spiritually and emotionally bankrupt. I’d sit alone some nights, confronting the uncomfortable truth that I’d become a narcissist. Everything I did seemed to revolve around my own needs and ego.
During this season, my wife started attending a non denominational church (Baptist roots). I was working weekend graveyards, so she took our boys with her. Honestly, I figured they’d all be better off without me there anyways as I’d wake up and marinate watching football all day. But over several months, I watched something remarkable happen to my wife. She became more patient, more sacrificial, more joyful. The change was so profound it got my attention in a way nothing else could.
God was working on my heart, creating a curiosity I hadn’t ever had. My wife had been quietly collecting Christian books, and I found myself drawn to Lee Strobel’s “The Case for Christ.” I devoured it in two days, and couldn’t put it down. The historical evidence for Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection was overwhelming. By the end, I was convinced not just intellectually, but in my soul: I was a sinner desperately in need of rescue, and Jesus Christ was real.
That realization changed everything because I knew it had to. If what I’d read was true and the evidence said it was, then this wasn’t just interesting information. It was the most important truth in existence, with eternal consequences.
In the many years since, God has completely reoriented my life. Through reformed theology, particularly RC Sproul’s teaching, I discovered that the dead saints often speak more clearly to our current struggles than most contemporary voices. Reading the Puritans and reformers showed me that God’s sovereignty and grace aren’t abstract concepts, they’re the foundation of transformed living.
The truth is, I didn’t choose God. He chose me. While I was spiritually dead, consumed with myself, He pursued me with relentless love. That grace has transformed my marriage from the inside out, revolutionized how I father my sons, and given me a brotherhood within the body of Christ I never knew I needed.
Now everything I do flows from that love. Everything I do here on Nostr is through that love. Not perfectly, but purposefully. I’m the same man, but I’m not the same man.
If you’re reading this and something resonates, don’t wait. Pick up a book. Ask the hard questions. Examine your life honestly: Are you just happy, or do you have joy? Happiness depends on circumstances; joy transcends them. One is temporary satisfaction; the other is eternal security.
I promise you, investigating the claims of Christ will be the most important thing you ever do. Not because I say so, but because He is who He says He is. And that changes absolutely everything.
