God Running is a place for anyone who wants to (or even anyone who wants to want to) love Jesus more deeply, follow Jesus more closely, and love people the way Jesus wants us to.

Over the last few months I’ve enjoyed a friendship with one of the servers at The Jesus Table named Bob Bredemeier. There are a bunch of people there who exude the khesed of Jesus and Bob is one of them. Bob recently shared his beautiful testimony at church and if you’re interested you can watch it in the video I shared at the top of this post (Bob’s testimony begins around 13:05). In case you’re more of a reader, I included a transcript below. I hope you’re as inspired by Bob as much as I was.

Seeking Truth

Hi, my name is Bob Bredemeier. And I’d like to tell you about my search for truth, and some conversations and encounters I’ve had with Jesus. My life began to fall apart when I entered into my freshman year at the University of Oregon. It was then I began asking the big questions like,

“Is there any meaning in this life?”

“Is there a God or are we all alone in an uncaring universe?”

“Am I just an accident or chance of nature?”

“What happens when we die?”

“What is truth?”

As a child and as a teenager I heard about Jesus and I believed that He created the world. Watching over human life. I looked upon God as the author Christian Smith describes as something like a combination of divine butler and cosmic therapist. Always on call. Taking care of any problems that arose. Professionally helping me to feel better about myself. As long as he did not become too personally involved in the process.

My conversations with Jesus at this time were few and shallow. Revolving around me and my immediate needs. For example, I asked him, “Why did you allow me to do so poorly on an assignment when I was trying so hard?”

During my freshman year at the U of O I became increasingly aware of a darkness and an emptiness in my soul. Most of which was due to the consequences of the choices I had been making. In my introduction of literature class, a number of the short stories and novels we read were written by authors who espoused existentialism and atheism. The message was constantly driven home that human beings are just accidents of nature, without any purpose. And that our existence was some sort of cosmic joke. We’re actors on a stage with nobody watching.

We can only attempt to fool ourselves by pretending that there is meaning to life and trying to carve out our own significance, although there really is none. Francis Schaeffer refers to this as “mysticism with no one there.”

My life had come to a point of desperation when I was eighteen. I was miserable and I made just about everyone around me miserable. I now know that Jesus had been pursuing me without me being aware of it. I remember in a point of desperation crying out to Jesus, if he was there and could hear me, to help me somehow.

My conversation with Jesus was really a cry for help from someone who was drowning.

During that summer between my freshman and sophomore year I had the privilege of working with a young man who had some key virtues in his life that were truly lacking in mine, namely peace, joy, and a sense of purpose and direction. I remember asking a lot of questions and debating a few different philosophies with him. But he was always patient with me. He was not perfect but he was authentic.

When I mentioned some of my inner darkness, he invited me to come and speak with him and his father who led a small church across the city. After the service I took a risk by opening up to both of them about the lack of direction in my life as well as my inner darkness. I expected them to tell me to look on the positive side of things, and for the good in people. To try to be more loving and to be a better person.

Instead my friend and his father were talking about me having a relationship with the heavenly Father made possible by the sacrifice of His Son on my behalf. Salvation and eternal life could not be earned, instead they were gifts. It’s the difference between someone saying, do this to save yourself, and Jesus saying, all has been done for you.

On that Sunday, in September of 1970, I was desperate enough to say the sinner’s prayer and invite Jesus Christ into my life to be my Lord, my Savior, my Advocate, my Counselor.

I was not just mentally acknowledging His existence. But I was asking Him to enter my life and take over the helm. Although I did not understand theology, I did grasp the life changing implications of my decision.

I like to think of myself as a truth seeker, and I did not want to follow Jesus because he helped me cope with living, but because He was and is real.

Jesus continually tells me he is the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through him.

In the first few months after my decision to follow him I was beginning to understand how Christ’s physical resurrection sets him apart from every religious, political, or secular leader ever known throughout history. And it gives Jesus an authority and power shared by no one else.

The Lord protected me and sent His servants to nurture and guide me in my newfound faith. As a new follower of the Truth I fell short regularly–I still do. But I’m in the hands of a loving God, who promised to receive all who come to him, to never turn them away, and protect them from ever being snatched out of His hand.

Jesus, in some of my most recent conversations with him, has specifically told me, “Fear not, for I have redeemed you. I have summoned you by name. You are mine. When you pass through the waters I will be with you. When you pass through the rivers they will not sweep over you.”

If you’re experiencing the emptiness and restlessness I once did, let me encourage you to come to the One who is Truth, namely Jesus Christ. Invite Him to be the Lord of every aspect of your life. His yoke is easy and comfortable, and his burden is light.

This is the full life that he promised in John 10:10.

Thank you.

“The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.”

John 10:10