Continuing my life journey and how I was led, this section describes the time in my teenage years when God began to work with me. It is another part of an upcoming book or website section entitled Divinely Led.
Part 2: Maturing in Australia
God Begins to Work
The year was 1969. My mother saw an ad in the Readers Digest for a Christian magazine with a free subscription, promising to help people understand the Bible and world events. She requested it, as well some other free literature, which as time went on, caught my eye. For the first time, I started reading the Bible.
The church behind the magazine also had literature about the question of Evolution versus Creation. Because of my interest in nature and studying science, this subject especially stirred my interest. Colorful brochures with catchy titles, “Theory for the Birds”, “Whale of a Tale”, and “Our Awesome Universe”, fascinated me with amazing facts about living things on earth as well as cosmic phenomena. This was in 1970, long before the internet and two decades before the Hubble telescope was launched into space and started sending stunning pictures back to the earth. In 2021, even the Hubble was superseded by the James Webb Space Telescope designed to conduct infrared astronomy. Its high-resolution and high-sensitivity instruments allow it to view objects too old, distant, or faint for the Hubble Space Telescope to record.
Even so, without the advanced technology, some awe-inspiring information was available that convinced me that all that exists could not just evolve by a random, unguided, process. Life and nature are governed by laws and need a designer, creator, law-giver and life-giver. This realization led me to a belief in a Creator God.
The church also offered a booklet entitled, “Why Were You Born?” This was a burning question for me as my life was lacking meaning and purpose. The brochure explained that through humans, God was reproducing Himself and creating a family – which in a sense is correct. A few decades later, I would learn that this occurs through the Holy Spirit imparting God’s Love into human hearts/souls (Rom. 5:5), which transforms the soul from the image of God into the substance of God and eventually leads to the new birth and future life in the Celestial Kingdom of God as true children of God.
An article by the title of “Is God Calling you?” caught my attention next and from there, things began to make sense. I don’t remember many of the points mentioned, but they included questions such as, are you desiring spiritual things? Is spiritual reading meaningful to you? Do you desire to serve God and submit to His will? Are you feeling at odds with the world’s values? I could sense my perspective changing, especially compared to the time in Sweden when I was confirmed without my consent or understanding. The answers to the questions in the article were becoming, yes – God was calling me and drawing me and changing my perception. That was certainly exciting. My life, previously in despair and without meaning, was being turned around.
All these things I couldn’t share with either of my parents. A big communication gap had developed over the years, where I just didn’t feel that I could exchange thoughts and ideas without being regarded with suspicion or met with criticism.
Yet, I wanted to know more, so I took the opportunity offered to invite a minister to talk to. Two men came – pastor Reg P. and a ministerial assistant, Geoff S. – while my parents were not at home. I cannot remember whether I planned it that way and didn’t even tell my parents, but that’s how it worked out.
The minister and his assistant answered my long list of Bible questions that I had compiled over time. Before leaving, they invited me to attend church and arranged for a Czech / Yugoslav family living on the same side of town to give me a ride.
The church strove to be very faithful to the Bible, including adhering to Old Testament dietary laws, a literal application of the Ten Commandments, which meant keeping the seventh-day Sabbath (Saturday), together with holy days observed by the Jews, but very few Christians.
As I studied, I continued to have many questions about spiritual things. I really wanted to obey God and serve him, but my parents didn’t understand. People in the church ministered to me socially, as well as spiritually when my family couldn’t. My life became more balanced as I not only began to attend church regularly, but joined a sizeable group of young men and women in going out on Saturday nights. We went to restaurants, dances, concerts, and church socials. In that process, we got to know each other as friends sharing a common spiritual journey. On long weekends, some of us went on overnight hikes. One of the members owned a farm property, on which he allowed the young people to build a wooden building, which then became a meeting point for youth activities, including an annual children’s camp.
My parents were concerned about the changes in my life, which they considered strange. Admittedly, the church was non-mainstream and unconventional, but overall not extreme – unless some of us members or overzealous ministers went overboard in our zeal to serve God and not be of the world. On some issues, the church misinterpreted the scriptures or was overly strict and legalistic. In our belief, that we were the only church having the truth (we weren’t the only church with this conviction), we looked down on other Christians. We were also somewhat hostile to the world and its institutions, including higher education and conventional medicine.
There was an overemphasis on law and not enough focus on love and mercy. On the positive side, the church kept its youth out of trouble. At the time when young people were seeking meaning and answers to life in free sex, drugs, drinking and partying, we engaged in wholesome and harmless activities. I will forever remain grateful for that because I hate to think where I could have otherwise ended up. Being somewhat naïve and hungry for love and understanding, I could have easily gotten mixed up with a wrong person or group and ruined my life – as many in that era had done.
Finishing University and Teaching School
For my last year of study to become a teacher, I felt it would be best to leave home. It just happened that a lady of a similar age in the church, Jan, was also looking for a place, so we became flat mates. At that time, Jan didn’t have a job, but while my parents were concerned, I trusted that she would soon get one – which she miraculously did when she received an unexpected call from the Monash University library with a job offer. So it all worked out very well.
While we were very different in our personalities, we became close friends and were able to support each other in working through our respective issues. We spent two years together in Clayton, Victoria, which was walking distance to both Monash University where Jan worked, and later to the primary school, where I taught.
Teaching Grade 3 was both enjoyable and challenging. But later that year, another turning point was emerging for me.
For other information on divine leading, see Spirit Helpers and Guides
Here is a short reflection on being divinely led.