My Answer Was, “Yes!”
I was born in a Christian home in Nigeria. There I heard the Bible explained every morning and evening by my father during our family devotions. I did not fully understand it then, or perhaps just did not accept it; for I was not a Christian until February 13, 1967, shortly after I met Bill Roberts.
Bill was a traveling secretary for the Scripture Union, living then in Nigeria to help set up Bible study groups on high school and college campuses. I was in form three at the time (equivalent to junior year in high school) but on a long holiday because of the Nigeria/Biafra war, which forced schools to cancel classes across the country. It was then that Bill visited me at my home and became my friend. We spent much time together talking about various things. Sometimes I’d be at his home for whole weekends.
I observed Bill’s lifestyle very closely and saw in him something I desired. His lifestyle appealed to me as the kind of lifestyle I wanted. He was unusually loving, very sacrificial materially, warm, honest, and transparent in his conversation with me. He listened intently to what I had to say and displayed an unusual patience. He made me feel like his home was my home, often letting me stay in his house when he’d go away.
I had known about the Christian character through my father’s devotional times. He would tell us about the people in the Bible and point out what they were like. When I saw Bill, I thought, Wow, this person has the character of the people my father told me about in the Bible.
A desire grew in me to become a good person, but I didn’t know how. It is not that I was necessarily a bad boy; I just wanted something better.
So one day, I told Bill that his character was the kind of character I wanted. I suggested that he outline his moral principles for me in writing so I could memorize and practice them. Bill laughed at my suggestion, and explained that what I observed in him had not always been there. It was the difference Christ made in his life when he opened his heart to him in commitment.
Bill gave me a Bible, and we went into his bedroom. He walked me through the Bible and outlined God’s plan for mankind, touching on many things from Genesis to Revelation. Some of the things weren’t new to me; I had heard them before from my father. But for some reason, this time around, I was surprised at how clear everything became. I could see God’s plan. The understanding was new to me.
Bill then asked me if I would like to be a part of God’s plan for mankind. My answer was, “Yes!”
We spent some time praying. My prayer was more an exercise of the will. I told God that I had never understood his plan before, hence I had lived my life without consideration of what he was doing. I told him I was sorry, and that from this point onward I committed my life into his hands and chose to be a part of his wonderful plan for mankind.
In the 29 years since then, I have gone through college, medical school, graduate school, and post-doc work, and have not had any reason to regret the commitment.
John T. Nwangwu, M.D.
Professor, Yale School of Medicine