The text message read, “Sonny, I have sin. I hurt a girl’s heart. Do you think that God could ever forgive me?”
As I sat on our couch one evening getting ready to put our girls to bed, my phone buzzed with that text message. I picked it up and saw the name of Yang, the first person I had ever shared the good news with using only the native language. He had been friendly, but didn’t seem particularly interested in following Jesus. It had been over a month since I’d heard from him.
Obviously, something had changed. After receiving that text, I encouraged him briefly by text and set up to see him the next afternoon with my teammate Indy.
When Indy and I met him the next afternoon, Yang was not in the mood for small talk. He shared the story of what happened, then said, “So, please tell me, how do I get forgiven?”
I asked him, “Yang, last time you didn’t seem that interested in Jesus. What happened?”
He replied, “Before I believed that maybe God was real, but now… I know that I really need Him.”
Over dinner we shared with him how to receive God’s forgiveness for our sin. Right there, in that small restaurant, he prayed, “Jesus, I have sin. I need you to forgive me. Please help me. You are my Lord. You are my King. You are my belief.”
Since then we have met with him to begin to teach him how to grow in his relationship with God and how to share about Jesus with others. Just last night, I was in a small group with him at an outreach Thanksgiving party. And I listened with joy, as Yang boldly proclaimed to the group full of not-yet-believers that he had decided to follow Jesus and how God had changed his life.
Yang had sin…
and God forgave Him. Now he is washed clean, and he’s excited to tell everyone about it.