Never Too Late For Change!

“And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.”
I Corinthians 13:13

On Sunday, August 29th, Claude Bechard was baptized into Christ at the age of 85. There were many tears of joy as friends and family gathered together to witness this “miracle”. Claude’s wife, Epifania, has been a disciple since September, 1995. She shared about her own conversion and her decision to recommit to her marriage at that time. One of the sisters who studied the Bible with her encouraged her to have faith that Claude could become a Christian, and that it might take 15 years for that to happen. Amazingly, Claude’s baptism occurred 15 years later, short of two weeks, from the date of Epifania’s own conversion!

Epifania shared about how she clung to the scripture in Acts 2:39, “The promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off – for all whom the Lord our God will call.” This promise gave her hope that one day her family would all become disciples and she began praying for them. Her daughter, Lorena, became a Christian, but Claude remained hardened. He told their young daughter, Crystal, “I will never go to that church!” Life became so difficult that Claude and Epifania separated, but Lorena continued to love and serve Claude. She would go to his apartment to clean, and sit down and talk with him about the Bible.

When Claude was diagnosed with terminal cancer, Epifania was filled with compassion and asked him to come back to live with the family so that she could take care of him. Claude’s heart began to soften. One of the brothers came every day to study the Bible with him. At first, Claude could only study for 15 minutes. One or two scriptures were all he could handle. But the more they met together, the more he understood and the more he wanted! He began to read whole books of the Bible – to read and re-read the scriptures from the Bible studies, and to apply the Word to his life. Finally, the power of the cross cut his heart and he was ready to make Jesus Lord.

Claude’s conversion shows us that it is never too late to change, that God is faithful and that love never fails! Seeing this family reunited, filled with joy and united in Christ gives us hope for our own families.

In Christ,
Ed Bahula
Elder, Toronto Church of Christ