Christmas speaks to something inside all of us. God came down to earth in the humblest form imaginable—an infant born in a lowly manger. This humility reappears time and time again in Jesus’ life and ministry. He took on “the very nature of a servant,” feeding the poor, healing lepers and eating with sinners. And humbly he became “obedient to death—even death on a cross” (Philippians 2:7–8).
Something about the radical humility of Christmas must have spoken to David’s soul in December 2011. A youth of arrogance and pride led to a drug addiction that gripped his life and landed him in prison. After a few years of incarceration, he was at an all-time low, bitter about his situation behind bars and ashamed of disappointing his family, friends and teachers.
It was at that low point that things started changing. David encountered a mighty God with the humility and love to meet him at his rock bottom.
“I think that God waits until people as arrogant and prideful as me get knocked down to their lowest point to [prompt them to] realize that they can no longer go on living like that,” says David.
That year, David decided to attend a Christmas pageant in the prison for no other reason than that the church hosting the event was also providing a home-cooked meal for everyone in attendance. He watched the performance and came away feeling strange, like somebody or something was welling up inside of him.
“In retrospect, I now realize that this was the Holy Spirit at work,” David remembers.
Just two days later, David received a visit from an old high school friend who, like David, had a history of drug abuse. His friend described the misery and pain of his life on drugs. This resonated with David, who had gone from pot to cocaine, acid, ecstasy and finally heroin.
David’s friend then shared how his life had been transformed through his relationship with Christ. Of course, this was just two days after David’s experience at the Christmas pageant.
“Strange? I think not,” David said. “I now know this was all part of God’s plan.”
David returned to his cell to dive into his Bible. “I’ll never forget that night when I accepted Jesus Christ into my life as my Lord and Savior,” he says. “It will forever be a date that is imprinted into my mind.”
Shortly thereafter, David enrolled in Crossroad’s Bible study program, which provided much-needed discipleship for a man who had never been able to read more than the first few pages of the Bible before.
David says the comments from the Instructors provided encouragement in his early walk with Christ. “I want to thank you for showing such compassion in my life,” he says. “I genuinely appreciate all of the positive feedback from my CBI Bible study Instructors. Such genuine fellowship has me forever thankful for coming to know CBI.”
David eventually decided he wanted to spend his life ministering to those in need of spiritual and physical healing. He desires to minister to those who are as hopelessly addicted to drugs as he once was.
“My heart truly goes out to all the people struggling with drug addiction, because I can truly sympathize with everything that they are currently going through,” he says. “Therefore it is my mission in life to let these people know that there is also another, far greater than me, who is able to sympathize with their weaknesses as well and who can also offer His gracious help to them.”
David graduated from Great Truths of the Bible in 2013 and continued in Tier 1 until he was released from prison. This Christmas, would you like to give the gift of your time and love by becoming a CBI Instructor and encouraging people like David? Visit www.cbi.tv/volunteer.