THE BIBLE CHANGES LIVES

HOW THE BIBLE CHANGED MY LIFE: 

One summer, I toured Europe with some fellow teachers. We went to Westminster Abbey, Notre-Dame de Paris, and the Vatican, as well as to many smaller churches. Everywhere I went, I asked my questions. After returning home to Sloatsburg New York, I visited a number of churches. But no one could give me satisfying answers.  

One day a 12-year-0ld student approached me and asked me three questions. First, she asked if I knew that she was one of Jehovah's Witnesses.  I said yes. Second, She asked if I would like to know more about Jehovah's Witnesses. Again, I said yes. Third, she asked where I lived. When I told her my address, we learned that I lived around the corner from her family.  Little did I  know that those three questions from a young girl would change my life forever. 

Soon thereafter, she rode her bicycle to my home and started a Bible study with me. I asked her the questions that I had asked many religious leaders. Unlike them, she showed me clear and satisfying answers from  my own Bible-answers that I had never seen before! 

What I learned from the Bible filled me with joy and contentment. I was moved  when I read 1 John 5:19:  "The whole world is lying in the power of the wicked one."  I was relieved to learn that it is, not God, but Satan who causes all the sorrow we see around us-and that God will remedy the situation.  (Revelation 21:3, 4) I discovered  that the Bible makes sense when it is explained clearly. Although the Witness who was studying with me was only 12 years old, I reasoned that the truth is the truth no matter who speaks it. 

Even so, I wanted to see if the Witnesses practiced what they preached. For instance, the young girl emphasized that true Christians display such qualities as patience and kindness.  (Galatians 5:22,23)   I decided to test her to see if she showed those qualities herself. One day, I intentionally arrived late for my study. I wondered: "Will she be waiting for me? And if so, will she be angry that I was late?"  As I pulled into my driveway, I saw her waiting on the front steps of my home.  She ran to my car and said:  "I was about to call home and tell my mother that we need to call the hospitals and the police to see if you're OK because you are never late for your study. I was worried about you!" 

On another occasion, I asked a question that I thought would be too difficult for a 12-year-old girl to answer. I wanted to see if she would just make up an answer.  When I asked the question, she looked at me very seriously and said: "That is a hard question. I am going to write it down and ask my parents." Sure enough, the next time she arrived for our study, she brought an issue of the Watchtower that contained the answer to my question.  This is what drew me to the Witnesses-their publications provided Bible-based answers to all my questions. I continued studying with that young girl, and one year later I was baptized as one of Jehovah's Witnesses." 

Next time: THE BIBLE CHANGES LIVES -HOW I HAVE BENEFITED

From the Watchtower magazine, 2015