When you sit in jail with a date scheduled for your execution you don’t stand a chance. You will be put to death.
“You don’t have an opportunity to protect yourself, even if you realize that you feel bad about it and decide to repent,” said Thomas Varghese*.
Thomas, a practicing veterinary surgeon with a law degree, explains the love of the Savior through his knowledge of the law and science. He uses that gift at work and when volunteering with FamilyLife’s “Weekend to Remember.”
“That is the point when you need somebody to pay (your debt),” Thomas said in an interview in his hometown . “So in law there are all these theories. You were a threat to people so you have to die. Then we understand the death of Christ is inevitable. You can never pay for all the crimes, all the sins you have committed.”
“God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.” 1 Corinthians 5:21
Varghese has worked as a veterinary surgeon and for the government for 10 years. Uncertain that he would be selected for the work he also pursued a law degree. Both skills have opened doors for him to share the gospel with his co-workers and family using his education.
“I was trying to see the beauty of God’s work in what I was studying,” Thomas said. “I saw something like that when I was studying animals.”
Thomas explained that when animals give birth there is no connection between mother and baby. But when humans give birth there is a deep connection where the mother provides nutrients, life, to the child.
“The baby’s almost bathed in the blood of the mother,” he said. “... For me to be born my mother had to suffer pain and shed blood. Spiritually this is true. At Calvary, Christ had to bear the pain and he had to shed blood.
“So the decision and the blood part makes sense when you accept the Father – you come to have a relationship because we have made a decision for Christ.”
Thomas grew up in an Orthodox home where being a Christian was more of a tradition or something to inherit. It wasn’t until he heard a gospel presentation that he accepted Christ as his personal Savior.
The idea that he, Thomas, had to choose Christ and dedicate his life rather than just claiming faith finally became real in his first semester as a veterinary student. Thomas was connected to campus staff with Cru where he came to understand the value of a personal relationship with God.
He says the busyness of life as a veterinary surgeon along with being a husband and father to two children makes it difficult to maintain a close relationship with God.
“It a tough challenge,” he said. “There is a time pressure (at work) and getting devotional time is a challenge. Of course organizations like Campus Crusade for Christ (Cru) provide a wakeup call.”
*Name changed for security reasons
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