Every disciple of Jesus has a story that leads up to the most critical moment of their life, the moment Jesus becomes King over their life, and this is mine. It all started in the multiple Episcopal churches my family attended during our time in the military. We were in Longview, Fort Worth and Austin and at every point of my religious childhood, I heard but didn’t receive what I was taught. My parents, brothers and cousins all came to know Jesus as their King, but as for me, and my case of intellectual superiority I developed in college, I found their faith inferior. It didn’t click until years later, married and living in New York City.
I ran in the circle of executive business and social leaders and God used my immediate circle of influence to begin influencing me toward something more significant than my career and intellect. Campus Crusade for Christ had a ministry that contacted the New York business circles and hosted upscale dinners. During those dinners, noted, Christian individuals would share their testimonies and then follow it up with an invitation. Due to that invitation, my wife and I found ourselves at Redeemer Presbyterian Church, which Pastor Tim Keller founded.
My wife, Carleen, and I began a friendship with a vibrant, faithful, younger couple at Redeemer, and their marriage made us question ourselves. There was something different about their relationship. We asked, and they had a straightforward answer: Jesus.
There I was, a year into studying God’s Word and listening to our new friends at Redeemer when I had a realization. Sitting in the morning light pouring into our apartment, it hit me, “Hey, this might be true. Jesus is real.” By grace and faith alone in Christ, that was the moment Jesus forgave my sins as I confessed and repented. He was faithful to forgive and send his Holy Spirit to reside in me — new Life was mine. Jesus is King. One week later, Carleen invited Christ into her life.
Life didn’t get easier, but it did become different. I began working in a Wall Street trading room, which was high-pressure! At the same time, my wife and I struggled to have kids and that was just the beginning of the ups and downs I experienced on the other side of trusting Jesus. But he was still King. In the middle of adoption, a dishonest boss, COVID-19 and receiving a lymphoma leukemia stage 4 diagnosis, Jesus helped me submit to him, cast my worries on him and be guided by the Holy Spirit. King Jesus led me through the wilderness.
We did adopt children, I made it through challenging periods of work and beat cancer, and mostly, I gained a deeper understanding of Jesus, and there’s no greater treasure on this earth than knowing him. There’s no question about it: Jesus is the King of my life and has been since I was 35 years old. Years into my faith, I learned my mom, dad and brothers were praying for me.
I thought I knew it all, but Jesus knew better. There is no question that Jesus is our King.