Then I prayed for her.

This young woman I had never met thousands of miles away seeking the same truth I had sought.

I prayed that God would reveal himself to her clearly.

I prayed for her protection.

I prayed that she would have courage to follow Jesus wherever he led.

And as I prayed, I felt overwhelming gratitude.

Gratitude that God had brought me through darkness to light so that I could help guide others on the same path.

Gratitude that my suffering had not been wasted.

gratitude that the question I asked in my philosophy classroom years ago whether truth should fear investigation had led me on a journey that ended in finding truth himself.

I am Dr.

Reza Farhadi.

I was a philosophy professor in Thran.

I spent my life studying ideas about truth and then I encountered truth as a person.

Jesus Christ who said he was the way, the truth and the life.

That encounter cost me everything I had.

My career, my reputation, my homeland, my family, my freedom ah for a time, my comfortable life.

But that encounter also gave me everything I needed.

forgiveness, peace, purpose, a family of faith that transcends nationality, a hope that does not depend on circumstances, a joy that the world did not give and the world cannot take away.

People sometimes ask me if I regret it, if I wish I had just remained a Muslim, kept my questions to myself, lived the comfortable life I had before.

The answer is simple.

No, not for a single moment because I found Jesus and he was worth it all.

I still have questions.

I still struggle with doubts sometimes.

I still miss my old life in moments of weakness.

I am not a perfect Christian.

I am still learning, still growing, still stumbling forward in faith.

But I know this.

Jesus is real.

His love is real.

His grace is real.

The gospel is true.

And truth, as I told my students long ago, should never fear investigation.

I investigated.

I searched.

I questioned.

I tested the claims of Christianity against everything I knew, everything I believed, everything I valued.

And truth stood firm.

Truth proved itself.

Truth was worth everything I gave up to find it.

That is my testimony.

That is my story.

From darkness to light, from death to life, from Islam to Christ, from a prison cell in Tehran to freedom in a foreign land.

And if God can do this for a stubborn philosophy professor from Iran, he can do it for anyone.

That is my hope.

That is my prayer.

That is why I share this story.

Not so people will admire my courage because I was not courageous.

I was terrified every step of the way.

Not so people will feel sorry for my suffering because my suffering was temporary and led to something far greater.

But so that others will know that Jesus is alive, that he saves, that he is worth everything.

And so that those who are seeking, who are questioning, who are reading the Bible in secret somewhere in Iran or Saudi Arabia or Pakistan or anywhere else will know they are not alone.

That others have walked this path before them.

That the cost is real but the reward is infinitely greater.

To them I say, keep seeking, keep questioning, keep investigating.

Let truth lead you wherever it will because truth is not afraid of questions.

Truth welcomes investigation.

And when you truly find truth, you will find that you have found everything you were searching for.

You will find Jesus and he will be enough.

He is enough for me.

here in my small apartment working a humble job far from everything familiar.

He is enough and he will be enough for you too.

That is my testimony.

That is the story of how I lost everything and found everything.

How I died and came to life.

How a philosophy professor from Tehran became a follower of Jesus Christ.

May God use it for his glory.

May it encourage believers and reach seekers.

May it prove that the gospel is true and powerful and worth any cost.

This is what I have found.

This is what I know.

This is what I will proclaim until my last breath.

Jesus Christ is Lord.

He is the way, the truth, and the life.

And he is worth everything.

Everything.

 

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