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
The Transformation of a Human
“And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another…”
(2 Cor. 3:18 ESV).
I love redemption stories, especially stories like those of John Newton and George Muller, where it is easy to identify God’s redeeming hand. However, I find that my faith grows most when I take the time to recognize and celebrate even the smallest bits of growth that God is bringing to my life. In his book Divine Conspiracy, Dallas Willard has helped me see that God is at work in many subtle ways that can easily be missed.
Growing up as an Amish boy, I loved the stories of Joseph, Daniel, and Noah. However, I seldom saw myself in these stories of God’s redemption. I was very conscientious, yet without a personal relationship with God. I grew up to be a self-righteous teenager enslaved to covert sins. What is God’s recipe to redeem a person who is filled with darkness to become an agent of light and life?
For me, this redemption came in small and often inconspicuous ways. I love the passage in Exodus where God assures Moses that, though they are unaware, He is intimately aware of His people and plans to deliver them: “Then the Lord said, ‘I have surely seen the affliction of my people who are in Egypt and have heard their cry because of their taskmasters. I know their sufferings, and I have come down to deliver them…” (Exod. 3:7-8).
God’s love and grace were revealed to me in human faces.
Looking back, I see God at work in my life, especially through His people and their influence on my life. Longing for answers to life’s questions, I was first drawn to Townline Mennonite Church, largely due to the graciousness of my childhood neighbors. At Townline, I received lots of relational warmth. The small groups, filled with laughter, love, and Bible study, were the greenhouse environment that started melting away my protective and selfish reserve. God’s love and grace were revealed to me in human faces.
How little it would have taken for me to fearfully flee from Townline in those early days! However, the little gestures of grace kept me in an environment where I began relying on Christ instead of myself. Here I discovered that God is not someone I have to hide my brokenness from. I discovered Christ as my biggest advocate and helper when dealing with my sinfulness. This was a major key in the development of my intimacy with Jesus.
One of the many people God used in my story was Andrew Eversole. Andy had a unique ability to poke and pry into my life in a way that got past my defenses. Andy pushed me out of lethargy into life. He pushed me to study the Bible as a legitimate life source; he pushed me to preach; he pushed me to attend college. Along with his insistent meddling and pushing, we fished and hunted together and he became one of my best friends. I often beat him in the outdoor endeavors and he easily laughed at himself. Yet, seldom did our fishing and hunting jaunts not turn to conversations about God. Andy believed in me more than I believed in myself. He was a big influence on me during a time when I was prime for a new identity. I cannot define the exact parameters of how he influenced me, but I know that God’s glory shone on me through Andy’s life.
God’s redeeming hand reaches out to me repeatedly, often through others. In my life, there have been myriads of little redemptive tweaks. Bit by bit, the Lord continues His work. That our almighty, all-knowing Father desires to be with me and to transform me is an incredible reality and the grandest adventure I have ever been on!
2 Responses
Dean, I love all that you wrote. Thank you for sharing. I remember Andy exactly how your described him. I still can’t believe he is gone.
What a beautiful redemption story!