Two comments on Shayne's testimony

Heather Shepley left a comment, and I gave my reply to her comment. Let me know what you think of my conclusion to why some people are given blessed encounters with Jesus, and others aren’t.

Heather Shepley9 months ago

This is a very powerful testimony. I wonder why some people are privileged to receive these encounters and others search and search and find the answers so elusive?

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David Burdick1 second ago

Heather, that is a good question. All I can guess is that some people are more susceptible to trusting God and His words. In this case, Shayne was made susceptible because he loved. He greatly loved his wife and children. Loving opens us up to heaven and shuts the devils out. Even though an atheist, Shayne’s life was bound up in loving his family. Obviously, Jesus doesn’t count atheism against atheists when love is controlling them. And neither should we discount them. The same goes for gays, ex-cons, etc. who often get marginalized. Shayne could trust in his wife, and maybe that was used by Jesus to improve the memory of the words, “Jesus loves you.” And the more the truth went round and around in his memory, and the more contact his thoughts had with those words, the more convincing they began to become. Like Paul in Romans 7, after wrestling with the commandments, which at first were like death to him, but gradually became his delight, Shayne’s brain’s atheistic grooves began to consider the possibility of those words, “Jesus loves you.” Shayne became reprogrammed from atheism and skepticism to faith. He took the bait when he expressed his fledgling faith in the motel room that night, and Jesus didn’t squander the opportunity. Immediately He revealed Himself to the soul who was so precious to Him and who made himself the target of the gift of God. The rest is history.