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My personal testimony mirrors how Pastor Will described his friends’ testimony. He faced a “life of drugs” before Jesus—he was “drug” to church every week! That was my experience as well, attending church Sunday mornings, Sunday nights, and Wednesday nights with my family and my grandparents.

My story has a slightly different twist, though. Have you ever heard of someone who made the decision to follow Jesus Christ after watching a TV program?

Well, here is my story. During the Easter season of 1979, I watched the TV series “Jesus of Nazareth.” Since I grew up with my grandparents, parents, and brother in church, that series put it all together for me. As a result, I became a follower of my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, at the age of seven. I was grateful for my pastor at the time, who took me through a book to ensure I fully understood the decision I was making. That particular decision as a seven-year-old shaped my identity and gave my life focus.

Over the next 47+ years, I’ve continued to pursue a personal relationship with Jesus Christ and fellowship with a local church.

My struggles are more like those faced by Simon the Pharisee in Luke 7.

36 When one of the Pharisees invited Jesus to have dinner with him, he went to the Pharisee’s house and reclined at the table. 37 A woman in that town who lived a sinful life learned that Jesus was eating at the Pharisee’s house, so she came there with an alabaster jar of perfume. 38 As she stood behind him at his feet weeping, she began to wet his feet with her tears. Then she wiped them with her hair, kissed them and poured perfume on them.

39 When the Pharisee who had invited him saw this, he said to himself, “If this man were a prophet, he would know who is touching him and what kind of woman she is—that she is a sinner.”

40 Jesus answered him, “Simon, I have something to tell you.”

“Tell me, teacher,” he said.

41 “Two people owed money to a certain moneylender. One owed him five hundred denarii and the other fifty. 42 Neither of them had the money to pay him back, so he forgave the debts of both. Now which of them will love him more?”

43 Simon replied, “I suppose the one who had the bigger debt forgiven.”

“You have judged correctly,” Jesus said.

44 Then he turned toward the woman and said to Simon, “Do you see this woman? I came into your house. You did not give me any water for my feet, but she wet my feet with her tears and wiped them with her hair. 45 You did not give me a kiss, but this woman, from the time I entered, has not stopped kissing my feet. 46 You did not put oil on my head, but she has poured perfume on my feet. 47 Therefore, I tell you, her many sins have been forgiven—as her great love has shown. But whoever has been forgiven little loves little.”

48 Then Jesus said to her, “Your sins are forgiven.”

49 The other guests began to say among themselves, “Who is this who even forgives sins?”

50 Jesus said to the woman, “Your faith has saved you; go in peace.”

Wow, “whoever has been forgiven little loves little”! I certainly resonate with those words of Jesus. I believe Satan can help make my life easy and lead me to think, “I have a good life. Why do I need God’s help?”

I’ve been forgiven little…am I becoming more like Satan, who thought himself equal to God?

Or, like the sinful woman in Luke 7, do I recognize my profound need for forgiveness, which leads me to turn toward God with deep love and gratitude?

I’m considering this: the less that I recognize my need for forgiveness, the less I truly understand the depth of God’s love—and the harder it is for me to love Him in return.

I need to focus more on this, so I’m picking up Jonathan “JP” Pokluda’s Your Story Has a Villain study that will be my blog’s focus for the first half of 2027. More to come…