Special moments can change the course of our lives. Looking back across the years of my spiritual journey with Christ, my most unforgettable moment happened when I was eight years old, on the second Sunday morning in November. I was at church where my parents always took the entire family on Sundays and any other night of the week that featured worship services. That November Sunday morning was the last day of revival services. I no longer remember the name of the evangelist or his message. I will never forget, however, the invitation to accept Christ as my personal Savior at the end of the message. Suddenly, I had a deep sense of urgency as I felt the Holy Spirit inviting me to pray at the altar. My mother’s keen spiritual sensitivity alerted her to my situation. She leaned over and whispered in my ear, “Would you like for me to go with you and pray?” I nodded yes, and we went forward and knelt together at the altar.

I confessed my sins and invited Jesus into my heart. Then, something happened to me. I suddenly sensed the unmistakable presence of the living God. I felt clean inside, free from the bondage of my past sins. That unforgettable moment is as real to me today as it was the morning it happened.

My life changed right then and there, and I am who I am today as a result of that encounter with God.

The world often discounts spiritual experiences. I have friends who have laughed off my special moment with God as a childhood myth. They only acknowledge two forms of reality: mathematic “truths,” such as 6 + 1 = 7, and tangible evidence, such as the physical book sitting on my desk. Everything else in life, for them, is meaningless. I gained a new insight with which to answer my friends when I took a phenomenology course in graduate school. I learned in that class that we experience many realities in life that conform to neither mathematic formulas nor tangible evidence. They are, however, quite real. My childhood encounter with God is one such experience. I was too young and immature in my relationship with Christ to carefully articulate what God did in me that November Sunday morning. Even today, I identify with the testimony of the blind man questioned about Jesus healing him. He said, “Whether he is a sinner or not, I don’t know. One thing I do know. I was blind but now I see!” (John 9:25).

I began to understand a bit about God’s work in my life when I read Paul’s words in 2 Corinthians 5:17, “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!” That is precisely what Christ did for me; He made me a new creation. His work continues to this day and will continue until we meet face-to-face.

This issue of Holiness Today explores God’s saving grace from various perspectives. I hope readers gain new insights into God’s incredible plan of salvation for humanity. We will never fully grasp in our time on earth God’s indescribable provision for us. We can continue to learn more about it, nonetheless. When you finish reading the last article of this issue, take time to thank God for the unforgettable moments you have had with Him along your spiritual journey. If you have yet to accept Christ as your Lord and Savior, you can ask Him into your heart right now and experience an unforgettable moment this day. You, too, can say with the healed man, “I was blind but now I see!”

Frank Moore is editor in chief of Holiness Today.

Holiness Today, November/December 2020

Please note: This article was originally published in 2020. All facts, figures, and titles were accurate to the best of our knowledge at that time but may have since changed.