Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and dine with him, and he with me.
Revelation 3, 20.
I returned from India to establish a hindu religious community in a German town in the east of Westphalia. I was a captive in an eastern religion. We meditated together and, in addition, endeavoured to win over others for the hindu way of thinking and the Indian “leader”. We worked hard and donated our money, apart from a little pocket money, to this cause. Having been led astray and blinded, we even approved of our teacher living in a palatial house and driving a Rolls Royce.
I was like a bird captured in the golden cage of my religion and at the same time a slave to the ideology of the religious community. How might my life have continued, if God hadn’t once again “knocked on my door”? Do you know what it means to be rescued from drowning like Peter? Jesus Christ’s strong arm saved me at a time when I was so near drowning that I couldn’t even cry out, “Lord, save me!”
This is how it happened: I tried to motivate a friend who had ceased mediating to start again. Instead, he told me that he had found Jesus Christ and that there is a living God who is interested in me, too. I first thought, “He’s one to speak!” But my rebellious heart began to change when he told me details of his experience and finally said, “Ralph, Jesus loves you!”
I was back to square one: God was still persevering with me.