An Atheist Led me to Christ!

No kidding! This really happened…an atheist let me to Christ! I gave my life to Christ when I was 24 years old. But the journey started when I was a small kid.

At 10 years old I was standing at the ironing board pressing out the shirt I would wear that day. With six kids in the family it was difficult for Mama to get around to meeting all our individual needs. So, I was ironing my own clothes.

 The ironing board was chest high and, not being proficient in ironing, the hot iron slipped off the board and fried my chest. I screamed and ran around the kitchen looking for some relief. I ran to the freezer and scraped some of the ice that had collected around the Freon coils. In the midst of my pain and agony, Mama said, “See, God punished you!”

God punished me? That’s right, that’s what I had been told all my life. “There is a God in Heaven that sees everything that you do wrong, and He will punish you for it.” It was the Gospel according to Mama, who by the way, was the most precious little Cajun Catholic woman that ever lived. Mama wasn’t a theologian, but she was a loving and devoted mother. As a matter of fact, Mama was the greatest influence in my life. But her theology wasn’t actually biblical, and as a result, neither was mine.

 I spent the first 24 years of my life believing that the only reason that God existed was to look down from Heaven and take every opportunity availed to Him to punish me. He must have seen an opportunity when I was ironing my shirt. He zapped me! If Mama was trying to win me to the Lord, it didn’t work. However, I did have a healthy fear of God.

Growing up like I did, under Mama’s “God in Heaven” theology, kept me in Sunday Mass and helped me in some ways that I look back on and appreciate now, but it did not lead me to Christ. As a Catholic, I never found Christ. I prayed constantly, never missed Mass, didn’t curse and tried to be good. But no matter how hard I tried I couldn’t seem to please God. He kept on punishing me…according to Mama.

Then one day, many years later, as a Louisiana State Trooper, I met a man that claimed to be an atheist. This really messed me up. I got mad at the things he told me and the very thought that someone would not believe in God…even though my idea of God was wrong. He said he tried being a Baptist, a Catholic and even read the Bible and came to the conclusion that there was no God. Well, this made me mad. I knew there was a God in Heaven because how else could you explain all the times He punished me? So, I went on a quest to find God and prove Him to this atheist.

I did not own a Bible. However, My next door neighbor Barney did own one. And a Bible it was! He had this huge 20 pound Masonic Family Bible on his coffee table; I asked him if I could borrow it; he said yes; and I took it home and starting reading it…I was going to find out about God and convince this atheist of just how wrong he was.

While reading this huge bible I came across the following passages of scripture:

Deut: 1 “Now it shall come to pass, if you diligently obey the voice of the LORD your God, to observe carefully all His commandments which I command you today, that the LORD your God will set you high above all nations of the earth. 2 And all these blessings shall come upon you and overtake you, because you obey the voice of the LORD your God:

3 “Blessed shall you be in the city, and blessed shall you be in the country.

4 “Blessed shall be the fruit of your body, the produce of your ground and the increase of your herds, the increase of your cattle and the offspring of your flocks.

5 “Blessed shall be your basket and your kneading bowl.

6 “Blessed shall you be when you come in, and blessed shall you be when you go out.

What? I couldn’t believe what I had just read. Blessed? God wanted to bless me? I knew He wanted to punish me but never that He wanted to bless me. Now, for the first time in my life I had the motivation to want to not only please God but to serve Him. To know a god that wants to bless me had to be the greatest experience mankind could have.

The impact of this truth drove me to my knees. I went to my bedroom fell to my knees and told God I was sorry for my sins and lifestyle and asked Him to forgive me. He did, and I left that room a new person. It was like 100 pounds of weight had just fallen from my shoulders.

Immediately I went to the Christian bookstore and bought my first bible. It was much later that I read in Romans 4:2, “Or despisest thou the riches of his goodness and forbearance and longsuffering; not knowing that the goodness of God leadeth thee to repentance?” KJV The goodness of God had led me to repentance and salvation.

After this incredible experience with the Living God, I went back to the State Police Training Academy and begin to witness to my atheist friend. I don’t know if he came to Christ, but over the years I have led many policeman to accept Christ as their Lord and Savior.

Simply reading my neighbor’s bible had produced faith in me…a faith that has carried me for over 35 years to serve Jesus Christ with a glad heart. This Word had guided my family and me for the majority of my life into fulfillment and significance. It still works today for anyone that will believe and obey it…even for an atheist.