My name is Geof Quiec. I grew up in a Christian family and came to know the Lord at an early age. I was really happy about my faith, because I thought that I was already saved and that I had Jesus living in me.
As years passed, my devotion started to wane and I began to see attending worship services as something I had to do out of obligation. In college I wanted to be popular with my peers and be the guy that everyone wanted to hang out with. I did everything that was acceptable and “cool” to society I started drinking and attending parties to get to know more people and to be popular. Popularity became so important to me. I started to enjoy these experiences and it gradually became my lifestyle.
In 2004, when I was 24, I went to China to study Mandarin. I was really excited to go I would be independent for the first time and I wasn’t going to be bound by family or rules. In China, I was living it up. I was a bachelor, had a driver and my own car, a great apartment to stay, and didn’t have any problems. My days were spent with endless partying and drinking, even on weekdays, and I would frequently pick up girls and sleep around, sometimes even paying women to sleep with me. I felt like I was on top of the world. Friends would call me when they wanted to look for a good time. I was even featured in a popular magazine in Shanghai as “ Club Guy”.
This life continued until I started working. I used my high salary to support my worldly lifestyle. But I had to admit that on most nights, I felt empty, dirty and scared. Despite my seemingly happy lifestyle, I knew that I was missing something in my life.
Believe it or not, I was still reading the Bible every day.
The Word of God is truly living and active, sharper than any double-edged sword (Hebrews 4:12) because even though I continued this worldly lifestyle, I slowly felt God speaking to me through His word. I realized that the answer to this discontentment and emptiness was God and I knew that I needed to change. When an opportunity to go home to Manila came, I decided to take it. Even though I didn’t have a job to come home to, I knew that I needed to get away from my sinful lifestyle in China.
When I came home, I joined a Bible study group in CCF and this started my path back to the light of the Lord. My new friends helped me with my struggles and I began to learn more about God’s Word. I remember even finishing the Bible, from cover to cover for the first time. I decided to recommit my life to the Lord and live as an ambassador of Christ.
From that moment on I felt very light and free. I experienced being set free from the sins that I used to struggle with such as cursing, anger, and lust. I also became more aware of and careful of my actions; keen on pleasing God and living for Him. I’ve realized that it’s not really the big sins that pull me away from the Lord but the small ones that I constantly allow to linger. I finally understood what Jesus said in Matthew 6:24, “No one can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other.” I no longer had the desire to chase after popularity and enjoyment, instead, what took its place was a desire to serve God. I gave up my old masters, my reputation and pleasure, to live for Jesus Christ, my new master.
God has also blessed me beyond my expectation by giving me a wonderful partner who is also part of a ministry in CCF, whom I am now engage to. I believe I only met her after God prepared my heart allowing me to understand what unconditional love means in His eyes. Matthew 6:33 is very much alive in my life. “But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.”
Don’t get me wrong, my life is definitely far from perfect. I still experience a lot of struggles. I still struggle with lust, and anger, and I am still faced with the temptations of this world. However unlike before, by God’s grace, I am no longer enslaved to these sins. He has transformed my heart so significantly since I recommitted my faith that more and more, day by day, I experience victory over these temptations.
Jesus Christ truly wants us to live an abundant life. It has been three years since I made that life-changing decision. Looking back, I would never want to exchange my new life with my old one. My life is now more meaningful. I now trust Him completely and have given Him free rein to mould me into the person that He wants me to be. I am Geof Quiec and it has been a great privilege to share God’s work in my life with you. To God my heavenly Father be the glory!!!
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