Policeman finds faith after asking virtual assistant a surprising question
“HOW CAN I GET SAVED?”
This was the question a policeman asked his virtual assistant, Siri, while awaiting test results for Covid-19.
Quarantined at home and feeling anxious and unwell, David’s* internet search brought up a website run by the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association (BGEA).
Soon, the 20-year law enforcement veteran was talking with a volunteer at the ‘Search for Jesus’ site.
“I’m struggling with faith, and with everything going on… even more so,” David typed.
The volunteer, Gloria, replied: “Where do you look for peace in uncertain times?” David said that he looked within himself.
“I can understand that,” Gloria replied. “The catch with that, though, is that our inner selves can be really disturbed by what we see and hear. That can lead to anxiety, as you know.”
She went on to suggest that he could find peace in a relationship with Jesus Christ.
“I’m not ready to go yet”
“I’m not ready to go yet,” David typed. “I’m only 48… I still feel I have things left to do.”
When David admitted that he was terrified of catching Covid-19 and that he was afraid of dying, Gloria replied that he was “realising the truth of God’s Word, that ‘the result of sin is death’”, quoting the Bible verse Romans 6:23.
“That is why you are so scared,” she said.
“Well, thanks for pointing that out,” David answered sarcastically. “Now I’m even more scared!”
“God knows that you cannot reach him through your own efforts”
But Gloria responded: “That verse continues, ‘But the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.’ The really, really good news is that God knows that you cannot reach him through your own efforts. So he provided the way for you to do that.
“He loves you that much, David.”
Gloria then invited David to put his trust in Jesus: “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life” (John 3:16). The verse was familiar to David; he had seen it on signs people held up at American football games.
She added: “God sent his own Son, Jesus, to earth. Jesus lived a life without sin but died a terrible death. He took all of our sins upon himself, all of our punishment upon himself.”
“But what am I supposed to do?” David asked.
“Believe,” Gloria typed. “I can’t give you a sales pitch on that. It has to come from your heart.”
David then confirmed that he had already prayed the prayer of salvation found on the website.
Gloria expressed utter joy at the news, then explained: “The words of the prayer are not magical. The important thing is the attitude of your heart.”
She encouraged David to take the next step in his new relationship with God by signing up for the free ‘Know Jesus’ discipleship course online (courses.goingfarther.net/know-jesus).
A BGEA spokesperson commented: “As David began a two-week quarantine, God had given him a gift he hadn’t been looking for – the gift of time. The Lord had once again used a temporary crisis to lead one of his children to eternal life.
“In this time of uncertainty, it’s one more reason to believe God’s Word is always true.”
*Name changed to protect the policeman’s identity.
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