Sami is on fire for Jesus. Sami is confident in the truthfulness of scripture. Sami celebrates and brags about the death and blood of Jesus by which his sins have been forgiven and his old man was put to death. Sami prays for and walks in the power of the Holy Spirit because Sami knows that he has been risen from the dead, a new creature being transformed into the likeness of Jesus. But Sami hasn’t always been on fire for Jesus.

The first time I met Sami he was afraid. He was a freshman in high school having to adjust to a whole new world. I was passing out suckers in the school cafeteria and invited him to join the Youth For Christ Bible study each Wednesday in the library. He told me he didn’t know if he could because he was trying to make a name for himself in basketball. I responded saying, “Yeah, ok. So you’ll be joining us?” Sami told me that he might. Throughout his freshman year he would drop in on occasion and stick to himself looking kind of lost in the midst of the 70 other students there each week. Sami seemed to be surprised that we were bragging about Jesus and teaching his classmates more and more about Jesus every week. By the end of the year he was paying more and more attention to what was going on in the library every Wednesday during the Youth For Christ Bible study. The summer following his freshman year something happened.

When Sami came back to school his sophomore year he was sporting the biggest smile I had seen in a long time as he ran up to me with a hug. He told me about his summer and the decision he had made to follow Jesus and give his life to the work of the gospel. Sami not only came each Wednesday to the Youth For Christ Bible study, he would show up to share the gospel. He proudly carried his Bible in hand throughout the day and showed forth Jesus to as many students as would listen. I invited Sami to join our Youth For Christ Core group of students who also met with us each Thursday for an even deeper dive into the gospel. I also invited him to step up to the plate and serve his classmates as a leader in Youth For Christ. Sami helped lead the Bible study each week in front of 70 of his classmates. He was immediately bearing fruit as he and the other Core group of students grew closer and closer to Jesus and one another.

That following summer Sami and the Core continued to grow in their faith in Jesus and their love for one another. So Sami is on fire for Jesus. He is maturing in obedience and sanctification as well as boldness and effectiveness in the work of the gospel. Sami is burdened for his fellow classmates and transforms that burden into a sincere and honest plea for others to know Jesus. I feel spoiled by the fellowship I get to share with Sami and am certain that I have an eternal friend in him.