Christian Living

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Called To Salvation
©
by

Stephen A. Peterson


Silvo, a 15 year old high school sophomore, suffered greatly with the thought of dying in sin. “Why do I have these feelings? What does ‘God forgives you really and truly mean? Are there certain kinds of sin God will not forgive? Who do I go to talk about what is bothering me? Will they understand what I am struggling with? Has anybody ever felt this way?”

For much of Silvo’s life, he had never heard anyone talk about God. He had never gone to church. Any and everything about God was forbidden in his house nor was he to talk to anyone about Jesus Christ. Both of Silvo’s parents fought to have prayer banned from school, sought to ban any mention of Christ public places and they lobbied long and hard to make certain their children would hear nothing about God, ever!

Knowing these things, Silvo took a chance and disobeyed his parents’ stern warnings to never make contact with a Christian. He picked up a local telephone book, looked under churches for the name of a pastor to whom he could write a letter or call. Afraid of being caught by his parents, Silvo wrote down the name of a Christian pastor and the church’s address. He decided to write the church and the pastor rather than take the chance at calling him and being discovered by one of his parents’.

In secret, Silvo sat in his first hour home room class to write a short letter to the pastor describing his situation and his situation. He asked the pastor if he could talk to him at his church and ended his letter by signing it, “Sincerely, Silvo, Lost and Confused.”

The letter arrived at the pastor’s office the next day. The letter stood out from all of the other letters that we placed on the pastor’s desk by his secretary. Reading Silvo’s letter, the pastor knew that he needed to meet with him as quickly as possible. So as not to give away Silvo’s identity or frighten him, the pastor took his reply to him during his lunch break. Immediately, Silvo recognized the man dressed in regular clothing as the pastor to whom he sent the letter. With only a smile, the pastor handed Silvo the note that indicated the pastor would be in his pastoral office at 3:30 PM until 4:00 PM.

In the warmth of an Oklahoma City afternoon, Silvo found his way to the church and the pastor’s office. Frighten Silvo entered the office only to find a friendly pastor’s smile and his willingness to answer his questions about Jesus Christ and forgiveness of sin. Finally, Silvo asked, “How do I become a child of God?” and “The meaning of forgiveness.”

The pastor explained to Silvo that he could become a Christian and be saved by simply accepting Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. That forgiveness means, “God forgives every sin in your life. Your life is new.”

Excited Silvo asked what he had to do. The pastor told him to pray a prayer of acceptance of Jesus Christ in his life and renounce all of his sins. Silvo, with the pastor’s help, prayed a prayer of acceptance of Jesus Christ in his life. At that moment, Silvo felt a sense of relief and freedom the likes that he had never felt before in his life.

Full of peace and joy, Silvo began the two block walk towards his home. As he walked towards the driveway of his house, a truck went out of control. The vehicle struck Silvo instantly killing him as his mother stood watching in horror. Just 18 minutes before Silvo had given his life to Christ.

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