Throughout 2024, the feature articles are devoted to hearing stories of God’s redemption within our Rosedale Network churches. We pray these stories fuel your love for the Lord and lead you to greater service in His Church.
~Kelsey Jurkovich, Publication & Literature Committee
Redemption in the Shadows
A basic definition of redemption is “the action of saving.” When I reflect on my personal story of God’s redemption, I notice Him working progressively through my experiences and relationships. Some people, including the apostle Paul in Acts 9, have experienced God showing up dramatically. For me, God has most often revealed Himself in more subtle yet convincing forms, in the shadows. Ephesians 1:7 makes it clear that Jesus—more specifically His blood—is my source of redemption: “In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins…” (NIV).
I was born and raised in Holmes County, Ohio, within a Christian family. I prayed to accept Jesus into my heart at the tender age of six. At this age, I didn’t understand the significance of what all this meant for my life. Another key event in my preteen life happened at tent revival meetings at the age of 12. I sensed God drawing me into a more complete commitment to Him. The prayer counselor was very gracious as I confessed my sins and asked God to forgive me.
…God persistently keeps showing up in the shadows of my broken life and inviting me into a deeper relationship with Him.
After renewing my commitment to faith in Jesus, I joined a discipleship class that was required by my church for baptism. Shortly after being baptized, Jerry Hoover took me to dinner and expressed his belief in my Christian leadership potential. He suggested that I should prepare for it by attending Bible college. William Stutzman, a traveling evangelist from my church, also recognized my potential when he invited me to join him on a mission trip to Haiti. God used both men to encourage me over the following years as champions in my journey of following Jesus.
During my teenage years and into my 20s, I had numerous impactful international experiences with Western missionaries and local Christians. These experiences ranged from worshiping with the underground church in Chengdu, China, and being part of a desperate healing prayer service in a poor area in Cambodia, to worshiping with a group of young people in Ephesus, Turkey, and witnessing a miracle as literature was moved into the church in Vietnam. Through these life experiences, God continued to draw me into His love by reaching out to me from the shadows.
The seed that Jerry Hoover planted when I was 15 would eventually grow and inspire me to apply at Columbia International University (CIU). During my time at CIU, God used the faculty and staff to provide me with a better theological foundation for life and ministry. During my graduate degree, I did a 2 ½ week study tour in Italy, with three faculty and several students. I was in awe of the monumental pieces of art that I saw firsthand; I was impressed by the persistent influence of the Bible on even humanistic development during the Renaissance. This reminded me of my story: God persistently keeps showing up in the shadows of my broken life and inviting me into a deeper relationship with Him. Paul E. Miller in his book, A Loving Life, comments, “By keeping Himself in the shadows, appearing at only the edges of life, God creates space for real relationship with Him. He doesn’t overwhelm our vision, so we emerge, and He emerges in our lives at the same time” (134).
In my journey of redemption and sanctification, I often think that my life parallels the experience of the Israelites. They were bound for the Promised Land, and yet they wandered in the wilderness due to their lack of faith. God persistently and graciously revealed Himself with just enough manna for the day. In my current ministry platform, my faith is being strengthened as I watch God calling out to especially my Chinese friends in the shadows of their lives.
Header Photo: Submitted by Scott Miller
