| Smelling the Coffee |
 Everywhere I looked, there were Christians. I began to have doubts – maybe God did exist. I’d been attending my church for high days and holidays for quite a while now, but until recently I never believed in God. It didn’t seem logical for God to exist and it was really quite foolish to think that he did. And if he didn’t exist, there was little hope for his son. When I was about 15 or so, my best friend at school was a Christian and we took O-level Religious Instruction together on Luke and the Acts of the Apostles. I managed to pass the exam even though I didn’t believe in God. In quite a few of the jobs I have had, I have worked closely with Christians. The person who sits opposite me at work at the moment is a Christian and most days we work together. We have talked about Christianity but I didn’t change my mind that it was illogical for God to exist. My daughter Yvonne became a Christian when she was about 14 and brought Jesus into my house. A teenage Christian in a house full of non-believers must have been quite an ordeal for her, especially if they were saying that God did not exist and it was just foolishness to believe. Firmly established About 10 years ago, Dorothy, my wife, became a Christian. So there is my daughter and there is my wife – Jesus was firmly established in my house – but still I did not believe. Six or so years ago, Yvonne married Steve and that brought yet another Christian along. My Mam started to come to church on Sundays and when I was at church I could see it was full of good people, all trying their best to be kind and loving. Everywhere I looked, to the right, to the left, up or down, there were Christians. I began to have doubts – maybe God did exist. Four or so months ago Dorothy asked me if I wanted to go to the Christianity Explored course. To her surprise, I said yes. I am not sure why I said that, but I did. I missed the first week of the course but was told that one of the questions was: If you could ask God any question and were certain of getting an answer, what would it be? I thought, what would I ask? Maybe, what numbers are going to win the lottery next week? What will it take to get Newcastle United to win the Premiership or the FA cup or even just beat Arsenal? Well it didn’t really matter what I asked. If God didn’t exist there would be no answer. But as the weeks went by on the course, I started to get a feeling inside of calmness and tranquillity. I felt at peace. I started to hear a still, small voice inside me saying, ‘I am here – where are you, Bren?’ I thought, hmm, and did nothing. The feeling of peace stayed and as the days went by I heard the still small voice again. It said ‘Yoo-hoo, Yoo-hoo Bren, I am here, where are you?’ I thought, ‘Yes, I know God exists and that his son is alive’ – but I did nothing. It was not until a few weeks later that I asked Jesus into my life and became a Christian. We all have choices. We can choose instant coffee and by pressing the button on the vending machine we can add sugar or sweeteners. But there’s little taste and no aroma. Or we can choose real coffee, one that is rich and authentic, that has a satisfying fullness, that is natural and full-bodied. By God’s grace, you can choose the unmistakable aroma of Christ and by doing so gain the refreshing fragrance of life everlasting. It has taken me a long time but I’ve woken up and smelled the coffee. |
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