The Local Church

The Thought that Never Before Entered into My Mind

As a boy at fourteen years of age, I was not very different from any other boy my age. Life for me seemed to be secure and stable growing up with my parents and two brothers in a Californian suburban city, located in the San Fernando Valley. Along with my brothers, I was active in sports and enjoyed music and playing with the household pets. Like many boys my age, I had shelves in my room above my bed, full of model cars and various things I had collected. Before going to sleep at night, my brothers and I gave our parents a hug, told them we loved them and said “Goodnight, God bless you.” Then, it happened. At 6:01 a.m. in the morning, just before the sun came up, a severe earthquake that measured 7.1 on the Richter Scale hit the San Fernando Valley. As I was sleeping on my stomach, my bed shook up and down, from side to side, like a small raft in an ocean full of waves. Turning over onto my side, as I opened my eyes, it was still dark outside and I could not see in my room. Then various objects began to fall upon my bed and upon me. As they fell, I realized that we were having a big earthquake and I thought I would be crushed under the weight of the roof that was caving in. Of course the roof wasn't caving in, and the objects that were falling on me were merely the things on my shelves above my bed. As I leaned out of bed and began to run down the hallway, I met up with my brothers and parents who were also startled out of their sleep. It was hard to run due to the severe shaking and the rolling waves that could actually be felt from the ground beneath our feet. The whole house was shaking which caused a loud noise that made it difficult to hear my parents who were telling us to try to stand in the safety of a doorway or to climb under the kitchen table. Cupboards opened up and the hanging lamps throughout the house were swinging back and forth. Then the ground suddenly stopped shaking and everything was quiet. We all hugged each other and were glad it was over. After the earthquake, we talked to our neighbors who also thought that a typhoon or some other catastrophe hit, because their back yard was flooded with water. Our swimming pool was still full of waves sloshing back and forth. Apparently, the earthquake shook so hard that about two and one half feet of water from the pool sloshed over the six feet high brick wall separating our yards.

Obviously, I did not die as I thought I would. But this event had a powerful effect on me. I thought to myself, “I go to church on Sunday; I don't get into trouble; most of the time I do the things I'm supposed to do; but why am I still afraid to die?” To me, this earthquake was like a “moment of truth” in my life. When it came down to it, I really didn't have the real thing. I had a strong inner sense that if I died, I would be apart from God forever. I was so frustrated. I believed that there was a God in this universe, but could I ever really have anything to do with Him? Or, was my human life destined merely to be a human existence on this earth, while God seemed so far away in the heavens? Also, for the first time, I began to consider what the real meaning of my human life was. I thought: get a good education, get a good job, then get married, have children, buy nice cars and a nice house. But then a strange thing occurred. While I considered these things, I pictured myself to be in that very situation. As I dreamed of obtaining what I thought was worthwhile in life, I realized there had to be something more than this, and still wondered what was the real meaning of my human life. With all of this as a background, I began to pray to God in a groping way, asking Him for answers to all these questions that burdened me.

Then about two weeks later while I was walking home from school, a neighbor shared with me the gospel from the New Testament. He shared how Jesus Christ died on the cross for my sins and now wanted to come to live inside of me, if I would only open my heart to receive Him. Previously, I had heard and believed that Jesus died on the cross. But, the thought never before entered into my mind and considerations that Jesus actually wanted to enter into me and give me the life of God. As he led me to pray in this way, I asked the Lord Jesus to come into me. This was the answer to all my prayers. I was so happy and thanked God for listening to me. God was no longer merely an objective God in the heavens; He now lived in me.

Years later, I realized that what had happened to me is described in a verse in the Bible. 1 Corinthians, chapter 2, verse 9 says, “But as it is written, `Things which eye has not seen and ear has not heard and which have not come up in man's heart; things which God has prepared for those who love Him.'”

Randy Smith | Back to List

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