My name is Dilu, Vittorio, if you are Italian, Victor, if you are American, Awet, if you are Eritrean. I am a student at York University in Toronto and a member of the Joseph Generation Army. I want to share a little bit of my life experience with you.
Dictionary.com defines the word peace as “inner contentment; serenity”. To get inner contentment the world requires a list of endless things. And yet lack of peace can be detected in those who have what the world requires. Crime, hatred, jealousy... are few examples of absence of Peace.
The questions and curiosity I had towards God as a young kid did not get the proper attention and response by my parents, which were followers of a different ideology then. As time goes by they did not mind my interest in Christianity because of the discipline value Christianity carries. When I was in grade 7, I was sent to Adventist school located in Akaki, 25km away from Addis Ababa where I started listening to the word of God daily. That is the place where I got introduced to the Bible, the book that has the answers to all the questions I had.
After being overwhelmed by the biblical fact which describes the gap which existed between mankind and God due to our sinful nature; and the fact that God was still willing to sacrifice his begotten son and read verses like Isaiah 53:5 “But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed.” I really like the Amharic version Yes! After coming face to face with the amazing mystery and love of Christ which is new everyday, I decided there would be no way my life would continue on the same line as it was before.
My decision was not good news to all my friends around my area; they did not like it at all. However, I continued my journey. In the year 1996 I started going to a nearby Full Gospel church where I met this man of God who was assigned by the church to teach me more of the word of God. As we came to know each other well, what really got me puzzled was his lifestyle. He did not have much of what people would normally have in order to live peacefully at that time. However, not only was he living a peaceful life but I also observed that he was a source of peace to others. I saw Romans 5:1 written all over his life “Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ” Watching that in his life deeply inspired me to follow Jesus.
After a little while that peace started flourishing in my life in every angle.
I thought it would be selfish to enjoy that peace without sharing the gospel to my family so we started talking about the word of God with my parents who did not have a clear stand at that point.
Later on they decided to come to Full Gospel church for the first time in their life and met the person who was assigned for me. It was not too long before they become good friends; even though they knew in their mind that they are not going to change, they were enjoying his preaching whenever he comes home. That by itself was a HUGE change. After a couple of years, their ears became more open to the word of God and decided to listen to the word of God knowing there is marvellous change there. Afterwards they decided and accepted Jesus as their own saviour and now my mom hardly can talk without praising God. They are on their own side running up to save others.
I don’t have enough words to express how grateful I am for the astonishing peace and joy that I have in Christ; the prince of peace, who is closer to me than my breath.
“And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus” Philippians 4:7
AMEN!