An Atheist Encounters Christ

"John" is a work associate of mine that I have known for some 12 years.  Over the  years, we have had several discussions  regarding the existence of God. John always  said he was an atheist and thought God was a  man-made excuse for people to get out   of  jail for sins they commit.
 
As we dug deeper into our discussions, it became apparent to me that what John was most against was the hypocritical attitude of some of his friends claiming to be Christians. He was also very dissatisfied with "structured" religion and man-made rules.
 
I would share the Good News in pieces with John during our talks, never trying to hit him over the head with the Bible but telling him I understood his disappointments.  I also told him how God had saved me from a bad situation in life through His Son Jesus.  Sometimes he would tell me he kind of "got it", but always reverted back to his anger.
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One day recently I received a call from John.  He sounded very upset and not himself at all.  He asked to see me as soon as possible.  I dropped what I was doing and saw him a few hours later.  John was in tears as he informed me that he had been diagnosed with cancer that day. 
 
John asked me to explain the message of eternal life through Jesus Christ once again.  He said he needed to know this was indeed real and that the only way he could get through this disease was having his faith in a greater being.  He also wanted a reassurance of life after death because he never had to think about it before.  That day, John accepted Jesus as his Savior!
 
John is now fighting his battle with the strength of Jesus and is at peace regardless of the outcome because he knows where he will spend eternity.

George Papachristou

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