As far as I’m concerned, we’re going up!
A story of hope and forgiveness
It was an ordinary day when we set off for Rotterdam. Our goal was to visit the hospital, where a woman in great spiritual distress needed our support. This woman was going through one of the most difficult periods of her life, but we had the special opportunity to encourage her.
During our visit, we were able to pray for her and give her words of hope. It was a precious moment in which we saw how, despite the serious crisis she was going through, she gained new courage to carry on. We believe that our prayers are not only heard, but can also be answered.
An unexpected encounter
After our visit, we said goodbye to the woman and got into the elevator with a few other people. One man in particular caught our attention: Frans. He was a true Rotterdammer—that was immediately clear from his way of speaking, his attitude, and his whole demeanor.
As we pressed the elevator button, we asked each other with a smile where we were going: up or down? Frans replied immediately with a broad smile: “As far as I’m concerned, we’re going up!” Curious, I asked him how far he wanted to go.
“Well,” he said with a smile, “to heaven if possible!”
This led to an interesting conversation during our descent. When we arrived downstairs, Frans decided to go outside for a smoke before continuing with his day. This gave us the perfect opportunity to talk to him about deeper matters.
A conversation about heaven
I asked Frans if he would like to know how to get to heaven. “Are you sure you would get there? What is your ticket to that place?”
Thus unfolded the story of a man who had endured a lot. Frans spoke candidly about the mountains of misery, the sins, and all kinds of other problems that had been part of his life. He even confessed that he had considered ending it all several times. “It seemed as if I saw no way out,” he said honestly.
When we asked him if he knew whether he would actually go to heaven, he admitted that this was not something he was sure about.
“Yes,” Frans said, “I sometimes go to the Reformed church.” That sounded promising, but when we asked him if all the preaching had really gotten through to him that Jesus is willing to offer forgiveness, it turned out that this was not the case. According to him, they had never really talked about that.
The message of forgiveness
This gave us the opportunity to talk to Frans further about God’s love. We told him, “If you give your life to Jesus, everything will change. Jesus has already given His life for you.”
We talked about how important it is to seek help when you struggle with feelings of guilt because of things from your past. Especially when you think that forgiveness is not possible because they were so bad.
“Forgiveness is available to you too!” we were able to say to Frans. “Because Jesus has paid for everything. Everything that was necessary for your salvation has already been done! All you have to do is accept this gift!”
A desire for forgiveness
We asked Frans the question: “Would you like to accept that all your sins are forgiven?”
“Oh yes!” he replied eagerly.
“It must be truly wonderful up there!” His eyes lit up at the thought of this possibility.
We explained that once his sins are forgiven and he accepts Jesus as his Savior and Redeemer, he will experience how much joy this can bring because he will truly belong to Him. Kindly but firmly, we asked if he would pray with us. “Sure!” Frans replied enthusiastically.
Prayer from the heart
We asked him to clarify whether he was accustomed to praying regularly. Frans admitted that this had not really been a habit of his.
“No problem!” we reassured him. “Let’s just pray together, and you can repeat after me!”
So we prayed a simple prayer to God together, asking Him to accept Frans’ life, to forgive all his sins, and to help him with everything that had made his life chaotic. These words came straight from the heart – Frans meant every word sincerely.
New certainty
At the end, we were able to say to Frans, “You can now truly call yourself a child of God! Because look closely: not only has He accepted you, but you have also accepted Him as your Savior and Redeemer!”
Frans said goodbye with joy. Later, during our walk, we met again – and sure enough, his eyes were shining with joy!
A message of hope
In this way, we can testify to how wonderful Jesus is as Savior, even when someone has done terrible things during their lifetime. Incidentally, this applies just as much to everyone else.
If you are currently struggling with worries or sad moments, know one thing for sure: Jesus Christ wants to be your Redeemer.
If you still do not know Him, you can simply come to Him by sending Him the same prayer from your heart, asking, “Lord, will You meet me?”
Above all, do not forget: He is the Hearer of prayers and wants to answer them!
@wimvanputten