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1A friend once challenged me about my belief in Jesus. He pointed to a picture of Elvis Presley on his office wall and said, “That’s my king!”

“Well he’s got a problem,” I answered, “He’s dead. But my king is alive and sat on a throne.”

I explained why I trusted Jesus as my king. And then I invited the man to also trust Him. But he said, “Didn’t I tell you I’ve been a bad man? I can’t be a Christian!”

I said, “Don’t you dare call God a liar! He said no one is too bad to be forgiven!”

Then I read out this verse:

“Come, let’s talk this over, says the Lord; no matter how deep the stain of your sins, I can take it out and make you as clean as freshly fallen snow. Even if you are stained as red as crimson, I can make you white as wool!” —Isaiah 1:18

It was like a hammer hitting him. He pushed his chair back to kneel down and pray. Just then two of his work mates came in and smirked at him kneeling on the floor.

Instead of getting up and pretending nothing had happened, my friend said, “What I’m about to do, I should have done years ago.” Then, in front them, he told Jesus he wanted to give his life to him.

It’s hard to do the right thing when your mates are telling you to do something else. But that man I spoke to knew trusting Jesus was worth it.

Your mates may make fun of you if you trust Jesus. They might even stop being your mates. That’s a hard thing to have to face. But they shouldn’t stop us from asking Jesus to forgive us for the things we’ve done wrong.

Paul, a writer in the Bible, knew what it was like to get abuse because of his beliefs. People hated him for being a Christian, and even tried to kill him. But he said: “I am comforted by this truth, that when we suffer and die for Jesus it only means that we will begin living with him in heaven” (2 Timothy 2:11).

Like Paul, my friend knew that belonging to Jesus is more important than what people think of us. Once we trust Jesus, no matter what happens, he is right there with us. And we know he will bring us safely into heaven. No one can “snatch [us] away from Jesus” (John 10:28).

— Mark, an Our Daily Bread reader

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