The Book That Changed My Life

EDITOR’S PROLOGUE: In his quest for fulfillment, acceptance, and love, Doug Batchelor attended 14 schools in nine years. Finally, at age 16, he rejected society altogether and moved into a cave alone in the San Jacinto Mountains near Palm Springs, California. There, he discovered a dusty Bible lying on a rock shelf in the cave. For a while, he left it there.

Discovering the Truth

The novelty of cave life eventually wore off, and not much was happening. Surrounded by the grandeur of nature, my thoughts turned more to God. I longed for that elusive inner peace that had brought me to this place in the beginning. One day I took the Bible down from the rock shelf and wiped off the dust.

Even though I struggled with the outdated language, the stories captivated me. It seemed that a divine Presence stood by my side, impressing me that this was truth. I liked the story of Adam and Eve and wished that I could believe it because it would help me feel better about myself. If God created the first man and woman, that made me the descendant of a son of God, not some amoeba or monkey!

The story of the Flood gripped my imagination. If water had covered the whole earth, no wonder I found fossils of sea life at 7,000 feet when I lived in New Mexico. A catastrophic flood carrying tons of silt as it surged back and forth made more sense than anything my teachers had taught me in school.

Jacob reminded me of myself. His deceitful trick got him in trouble, forcing him to flee for his life. I thought of all the times I had run away from home. The part where he finally returned to his father nearly brought tears to my eyes.

I read and reread the Ten Commandments. They seemed to be such a perfect set of rules! I noticed that the fourth commandment said to keep holy the seventh day, so I looked at an old calendar in my bedroom cave.

Isn’t that Saturday? I wondered. If people would just live by these rules, how different our world would be!

I began to bog down in Exodus with all the names I couldn’t pronounce, and I finally laid the Bible aside. But my mind continued playing those stories back to me, and I began to realize that God did concern Himself with human affairs.

One day I ran into a “Jesus freak” in town, but instead of avoiding him as I usually did, I told him I had been reading the Bible.

“But the stories ended,” I said sadly. “Aren’t there any more good stories?”

“Sure, why don’t you try the New Testament—Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John? They’re all about Jesus Christ.”

“I’m not sure I believe in Jesus Christ,” I said slowly.

He didn’t argue. “It’s up to you,” he said.

Trying the Gospels

I really had my guard up when I began reading Matthew, but instead of finding Jesus to be a charlatan seeking glory for Himself, I found Him to be a warm, powerful, caring, forgiving Person who went about teaching people, healing them, and raising them from the dead.

I visited the public library in Palm Springs. I learned that not only was Jesus a historical figure, but He was so important that all history is calculated from the date of His birth!

I finished Matthew and started on Mark, who told much the same story, but it seemed more action-packed. I loved the book of Luke, especially the story of the Prodigal Son. I felt that I was that rebellious son who needed to turn to my heavenly Father.

Luke also told the story of the Good Samaritan. I thought of all the people who had passed me by when I was hitchhiking. Then that Christian came along, like the Samaritan, and helped me. I began to see Christianity in a new light. Instead of telling me to look inward for strength, it told me to look to Jesus. He would give me the rest and forgiveness I was searching for.

The book of John, with its profound concepts of God and His love, thrilled me, and I could feel Jesus drawing me.

By the time I finished the four Gospels, I knew I had to decide what to do about Jesus. I knew He really lived, but who was He? I wanted with all my heart to know the truth. God understood and helped me to think it through. Could He have been crazy? I asked myself.

I thought of the many times He had silenced His enemies with just a few words. I thought of the power of His words, like the Sermon on the Mount, and how He read the thoughts and intentions of people’s hearts. No, I decided, He was not crazy. Was He a liar and a deceiver? I thought of His life of unselfish ministry, how He went about healing the sick, raising the dead, and casting out demons. He devoted His entire life to promoting truth and exposing hypocrisy. Had He been a liar, He could easily have lied at His trial and escaped death. I was a terrific liar; they say it takes one to know one. No, He was not a liar.

That left only one conclusion. Jesus had to be who He claimed to be—the Son of God who came to earth. As this realization dawned upon me, I fell to my knees right there on the floor of my cave.

“Please Change Me!”

“Lord Jesus!” I cried aloud. “I believe that You are the Son of God and my Savior. I believe that You paid for my sins. I want You to come into my life and show me how to follow You.”

Satan hastened to discourage me in the step I was taking. I could actually feel the forces of good and evil punching it out in my heart.

“Jesus, I know I’ve done a lot of mean, stupid things. I’m sorry. Will You please forgive all of them? And will You please change me?”

I remained on my knees a little longer. I didn’t feel lightning or anything dramatic, but somehow I knew that God heard my prayer and forgave my sins. My heart began to fill with the sweetest peace I had ever experienced. Slowly I rose to my feet and looked about. The whole world seemed more beautiful. My heart sang, and I longed to share my happiness with someone.

Editor’s Epilogue: Ever since he accepted Jesus Christ while in the cave, Doug Batchelor has talked to people about God’s love. Today, he serves as president/speaker for Amazing Facts International and the senior pastor of the Granite Bay Hilltop Seventh-day Adventist Church in Granite Bay, California.