Engineer Meets Master Designer
My name is Mark Griffen, and I’m a graduate of the University of Colorado in Civil Engineering. However I’d like to tell you of a different miracle that happened in my life about 40 years ago.
I was raised in a church and taught from a early age about God. As I matured, I felt something was wrong. We read the Bible and talked about Jesus and the good man that He was. We were taught that we needed to be good to please Him. Yet with all the teaching and religion I had received, it had not changed my life. Nor had it changed anyone else’s, for all I could tell. I felt like a hypocrite; I was no different than my friends who didn’t go to church.
When I was fifteen I was given a new Sunday school teacher. She was a new member in the church whom someone had persuaded to take on the 9th grade class. She started by telling us about God and how much He loved us– not mankind in general, but me personally. We were informed that we were sinful and separated from God, therefore we couldn’t know and experience God’s love. She told me that because God loved me, He wanted to take away my sin and have a personal relationship with me.Using the Bible she showed me how God had sent His son Jesus, as a gift, to die for my sins that I might live eternally and experience an abundant life now, on earth. All I had to do to receive that gift was to thank God for Jesus and ask Him into my heart. I did that and Jesus entered my life.
Shortly after that, my teacher left and I tried to serve Jesus in my own strength. I failed. I became very frustrated and for the next six years of my life I lived in rebellion and defeat. During this time I believed that all I had to do was to get through high school, then college as an engineer, then I’d be happy. After a year of college I realized that wasn’t the answer.
Near the end of my sophomore year, I met some people who seemed to be different because they enjoyed life and were happy. I’d seen that before, but these people were sober. I was curious, what did they have that I didn’t?
After observing their lives closely, I found the answer. These people had not only received Christ into their lives; they had surrendered their wills to Him and made Him Lord over all that they were and all that they possessed. I realized my need and I surrendered my will completely to Jesus and gave Him all that I was, soon after that.
Jesus said, “Come to me all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest.” I have found that rest and I wouldn’t exchange it for anything. I have quit trying to live the good life; now I’m letting Him live it through me. I won’t say that I haven’t had any problems since then; I’ve probably had just as many. The difference is this– I now have the problem-solver.