Are You a “Whosoever”?

I grew up in a non-Christian household; my mom was Buddhist, and my dad was agnostic, so church was not a priority in their lives. However, there was a church within walking distance of our home, and my parents didn’t mind me going there. It was here that I became a “whosoever”.

I became a “whosoever” when I was 12 years old. I was sitting in church listening to a missionary share his experiences about serving God on the foreign field.  As he continued speaking, he wove the gospel into his presentation, and I found myself drawn to his message – but when he started explaining what a sinner was, I found myself riveted to his words. I knew what a sinner was and believed that I was one – after all, I’d heard it many times in church, but I really never internalized it. However, when the missionary stated that each one of our sins was a hammer blow to the nails that held Jesus to the cross, I was stunned! Stunned by the realization that MY sins had put Jesus on the cross. The guilt of being a sinner was overwhelming, and when he gave an invitation to trust Christ as Saviour, I rushed to the alter.

I don’t remember anyone around me… it was as if it was just me and the Lord. As I knelt there confessing my sorrow for my sins, I prayed for His forgiveness, and I knew… I really knew that at that moment Jesus had forgiven me! John 3:16 states, “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life”, and Romans 10:13 says, “For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.”

That day, March 10, 1968, I became a “whosoever”.

I am happy today, and the sun shines bright, the clouds have been rolled away;
For the Savior said, whosoever will may come with Him to stay.

“Whosoever” surely meaneth me, surely meaneth me, oh, surely meaneth me;
“Whosoever” surely meaneth me, “Whosoever” meaneth me.

(from “Whosoever Meaneth Me” by James E. McConnell)

“But whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life.”- John 4:14

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Are you a “whosoever”?