Chapter 5

“The Angels Rejoice”

Around Christmas of 1978, I sent two special witnesses, a girl and a boy, to share my good news with college students. This pair went to the dorm floor John lived on. They shared about my love and how I demonstrated that love by dying on the cross. John, being religious thought he knew all this and desired to stand in agreement with their message as a Christian. Soon after this, John would learn just how righteous he was in light of a holy God.

That very evening John went to his dorm floor lobby. It was there that his fellow students were watching unclean films. This normally would not bother John, but tonight he had his first understanding of how his “religion” did not measure up when it came to purity. I was there in the form of the Holy Spirit. John was beginning to be convicted of his sin. As John and other dorm mates were watching these films, someone yelled out, “Let’s invite the Christians in here.” For the first time, John learned that being a Christian was truly not a “Anything goes lifestyle.”

John went home for Christmas break, thinking about this conflict in his life. During the week before Christmas Day, John’s lifestyle was the same as his previous way. Christmas evening found John in his parents’ church as usual. My birthday was being celebrated. John enjoyed the service, but did not realize how I was working in his life. After attending to the late service, John was still alert. He started studying one of his philosophy textbooks. It was the story of Socrates and how he was facing death. In the book, Socrates told of a myth he believed was true regarding the after life. He believed that people whose souls were wretched and unclean would go to a place of eternal punishment. As John read this, he thought of his own corrupted soul. It was then that I opened his eyes to an even greater truth about Me. I was willing to take that punishment for all mankind. John became open to the truth that I had personally done it for him. I gave John a picture-thought of my death on the cross and that it was my blood that would wash away his sins. At this, John asked for this cleansing. As I responded, he said thank-you to my gift of love. John out of an understanding of how great this love is said, “Lord, whatever you want me to do, wherever you want me to go, that I will do. The Angels were rejoicing, as well as John and myself. John would sense a burden lifted and he had begun an incredible journey.