A Change in Life and Living

My experience of Christ began in high school. I was raised as a good Catholic, but I did not know the Lord. In junior high, I was strongly influenced by the rebellion of the 60’s and did my best to forget about God. But in high school, there was a strong move of the Lord on campus that brought tracts and newspapers declaring the gospel and the testimonies of those who had received “living water springing up into eternal life”. I yearned to experience what I was reading, but wouldn’t trust anyone’s help. I knew where Christians met but I couldn’t bring myself to go there. I set out to read through the New Testament on my own. I was convicted and convinced of my need for Christ over and over again. I prayed the sinner’s prayer in back of tracts, but I had no assurance that my prayers were answered. Then one day, by the Lord’s mercy, I opened up to my wood shop teacher who was a dear brother. When he took me to the Word, I finally had the hearing of faith. (Rom. 10:17, Gal. 3:2) Through the Lord’s speaking through him, I was freed from the fear of hell and death and ushered into unspeakable joy by receiving Christ. I left the shop that day, after prayer and tears, knowing that I had eternal life because I had the Son. I never doubted after that.

I soon learned the failure of being unequally yoked with unbelievers and how light had no fellowship with darkness. My friends didn’t reject me, but kept me chained to the things I knew the Lord wanted to free me from. One day, a girl in my driver’s ed. class left a booklet by Watchman Nee called, “The Body of Christ” on my desk. My eyes were opened to see how God never intended for me to be an individual Christian. I was simply a member of His Body and dependent on the other members. I soon found a regular meeting of Christians on the campus. When I went, I realized how different I was from these kids, and yet how deeply I was related to them in Christ. From there I was invited to my first meeting with the church in San Diego. Two men spoke. One was from a Pentecostal background with a wild, funny, loud personality, and the other was from a Baptist background: sober, serious, and firm. Both spoke of the confusion they had experienced with so many Christian denominations and groups meeting on the ground of people’s preferences, styles, music, gifted speakers, etc. rather than on the ground of the oneness of all believers. I remembered singing a song that had had no meaning for me when I was a Catholic, “We are one in the spirit we are one in the Lord… And we pray that our unity will one day be restored.” These people weren’t praying for unity to be restored, but had dropped their differences and backgrounds to meet together as the practical expression of the Body of Christ. The two speakers didn’t dominate the meeting, but encouraged everyone to speak something that they had received from the Lord. I was nourished, refreshed, and even convicted by all. I could see that what brought them together was Christ, not any other common interests. Although I looked like I didn’t fit in, I was genuinely received as a brother in Christ.

After graduating from high school I moved into a large house full of brothers who met with the local church. We would preach the gospel on a nearby Navy base and invite sailors to come over for a home cooked meal. Most of them we would never see again, but the Lord imparted something of His heart for people during the year and a half we were there. I lived in two other brothers’ houses before getting married. As young men, we learned lessons of keeping a clean and neat house, cooking, eating, praying, singing and living together in the Lord. We did our best to bear one another up and encourage one another in the Word. I treasured that time. We practiced taking the Word by prayer, or pray-reading. We called on the name of the Lord Jesus aloud which helped keep us in His presence. We studied the Bible with the help of the Life-Study messages from Witness Lee. These messages helped us grow in the Lord by showing us the unsearchable riches of Christ in a way that applied to our daily life. (Eph. 3:8) Our high points during the year would be to go to conferences with other local churches or to semi-annual training meetings given by brother Witness Lee. These times were like what the children of Israel must have experienced when they would go up to the annual feasts on Mount Zion from wherever they lived singing “behold how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity” (Psa. 133:1). The difference was, we were enjoying the reality of Christ while they only had the types and shadows. (Heb. 10:1) I got to know many precious believers from all over the world through these times. I also witnessed that the Body of Christ is not something intangible, in theory, but very practical and built up through the functioning of all its members.

Lastly, I would say that the church life in the local church has been the healthiest environment I could imagine living in for my personal life, marriage life and family life. My bride of over twenty years and I have two children. Our firstborn graduated tenth in his class, having been a three sport varsity athlete and very outgoing. In his application letters to colleges, he referred to his experiences of God, family life and church life. He will be attending UCLA and will live in a brothers’ house. I am so happy for him because I know what joys await him. In short, I would say that coming to Christ has changed my life, and coming to the local church has changed my living. I think these two verses from a song I have enjoyed all these years sums it up:

We have found the Christ who’s all in all,

He is everything to us.

Oh, how blest upon His name to call!

How divine! How glorious!

We have found the local church our home.

We are home and home indeed!

In the church is all we need!

It is joy unspeakable and full of glory,

full of glory, full of glory,

And the half has never yet been told!

Jim Rodman

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