"God has definitely touched my life"
By Tomio Horie
THE ONLY RELIGION I had previously known was Buddhism. I was raised by my parents believing that freeing oneself from material desires, a practicing Buddhist can attain nirvana or spiritual peace. Once a Buddhist has attained nirvana, he will then be able to use his time to improve the world. I had no idea about God then. My idea of divinity was the statue of Buddha with his arms folded on his lap and a beatific smile on his face. During summertime, I would typically attend some religious rituals and ceremonies held in Buddhist shrines or temples and participate in local festivals.
In
1978 I married Yasuko Asai. We were blessed with
two kids named Hitomi and Yasunori. During that time, my
life was devoted to my job. I was focused on material
gains, on earning much in order to let my family enjoy a
comfortable life, yet I hardly spend time with my
family. Until one day, something unexpected came up and
my wife was diagnosed with lung cancer. I consulted
different Doctors in a frantic effort to save my wife.
In the process, almost all my savings went to the
payment of medical and hospital bills. Despite all that
I had done, my wife died at the age of 44 on March 18,
1998. The loss of my wife brought a lot of changes in my
family. But despite the sorrow of losing her, life
had to go on, I had to raise my two kids alone and
continue working at the same time--being a single
parent.
In 2001, I went to the Philippines
where I was introduced to the Church of Christ. I flew
back to Japan to find the Church there and I went
straight to the Iglesia ni Cristo house of worship. in
Yokohama, with ardent interest in joining the Church. I
continued listening to the fundamental doctrines and
regularly attended the worship services, and slowly I
was able to understand the teaching of the Church and
the truth about the words of God.
I realized that
material possessions are not the most important things
man should have in order to have a happy and peaceful
life. The teaching that had the biggest impact on me was
the existence of the one true God, the Father. I also
appreciated and wholeheartedly accepted the teachings of
the Bible on loving and caring for one's family,
spending valuable time with your family while at the
same time working hard to provide for all their needs.
This was in sharp contrast with my past experience
wherein my family was relegated to second place because
I worked so hard for the money. These are just some of
the reasons that convinced me about the truthfulness of
the teachings in the Church of Christ.
By God's grace, I was baptized on
February 9, 2002. I came from a place where most people
do not believe in God, but because of His overflowing
love for me, He called me to His Church and gave me the
chance to serve Him. I am truly fortunate because the
words of God guided me to become a member of the true
Church of Christ. Now I am certain of salvation. At
present, I am the 4th Head Deacon in the local
congregation of Kawasaki. I am truly thankful that God
has definitely touched my life.□
