My walk with God has always been an interesting one. Even at a young age, I prayed every night, and every Sunday I woke up early to attend the Orthodox Church with my friend Nikos. My family thought one day I would become a priest.
“Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is–his good, pleasing and perfect will.”
Romans 12:2
Later on as I prepared to study abroad, my godly focus eroded.
I started worrying more about my looks and women than about God. During my years at the university, my life plunged into a deeply immoral lifestyle.
God sought to break me of this sinful lifestyle. During the summer of 1997, three disciples approached me while eating at a McDonalds in London where I was taking courses. They invited me to church where I found many extremely “happy and smiley” people. After the first fun and eventful Sunday sermon, they then invited me to Bible studies.
Within the first four weeks of studying the Bible, I was blown away by the hidden truths of God’s word. Diving into the waters of rebirth was the only logical decision I could make.
However, my convictions proved to be like clay feet. Just two months after my baptism, I had to move away to North Newcastle to complete my final year of university. This relocation along with the relentless opposition from my family and an ex-girlfriend led me back into the dirt of the world.
Three years later while wandering in the wilderness, I was on the verge of getting engaged. But there would come a surprise that would shake me to my core. My prospective fiancée went to Australia for a few months. While away, she called me one day. The conversation went something like this:
It’s not that I don’t love you.
It’s just that I want to enjoy my life a little more before returning to a serious lifestyle.
It’s not that I found someone else.
I’m just too young to commit, and I just need a little space.
Please don’t get angry.
It’s nothing personal.
Her words struck me hard because these were the same things I had said to God when I left Him and the church. This realization brought me down to my knees, removing any pride I had at that moment. In tears, I reached for my now dusty Bible for comfort.
One month prior to this painful revelation, I had gotten in touch with my previous discipler to share the “good news” of my upcoming engagement. However, later after coming back to the church, I found out that the whole sector of 250 members had been praying that I would split up with my girlfriend and find a job in London. Turns out, God answered their prayers, and there I was in London working with no girlfriend. During all of this time, my gracious God had been working. I am so thankful he never lost faith in me even through my own unfaithful actions hurt him so dearly. But my story doesn’t end there.
I was welcomed like a “hero” back to the body of Christ. Little did I know that this hero was up for some serious beatings by the deceiver. Even though I was certain there was no turning back, my pride kept me from seeking advice on my friendships. My undiscipled arrogance led me to be immoral with a sister. My sin damaged my relationships as I lost the trust of many brothers and sisters. I was nearly disfellowshipped.
But I thank God who put next to me a great, godly brother. This brother took me “by the hand” and with much love, faith, patience, and forgiveness, showed me so many aspects of Jesus’ heart. This helped me learn to have a very meaningful life with Christ. I owe him so much.
After almost two years of being back in the faith, some doors started closing, causing me a lot of confusion on where God wanted me to be. For starters, the church in Athens was calling out all the Greek disciples in Europe to move to Athens to help the church. I very much disliked the idea. What was I going to get out of it, I thought to myself. I had grown comfortable in the large London church. About the same time, the Greek army called me for my compulsory 14-month service. Consequently, I had to decide between two options –stay or go back. Staying meant that I would be unable to return to Greece without facing prosecution. Returning meant military service, but it was the only way to renew my passport. To make things more difficult, I had developed an interest in a newly baptised sister.
Having learned my lesson from my previous mess, I diligently sought advice about everything. One piece of helpful advice was to pray “specific prayers.” So listened and prayed, “Father, I don’t want to mess up with your will ever again, so if she is not the one for me, make me lose my job tomorrow.” And then I lost my job. My heart, however, still did not accept the answer to my own prayer! So my mentor said, “if you really want to keep testing God’s patience –even though He was so clear to you –I’d suggest you keep praying for specifics.” With this advice in hand, I prayed: “God, I’m thinking of asking her to be my girlfriend at the end of October. But if you don’t want me to do so, please make it very obvious.” At the end of October, she left the church, taking three disciples flatmates with her.
So in March 2002, I had to move back to Greece to fulfil my military duty. My path back to Greece was not one that I would recommend, but it was an experience that God used to bring my heart closer to the Athens church. The very place I had no desire to move to when the church asked earlier. The comfortable London church became very uncomfortable when the infamous Henry Kriete letter came out. My London friends became inward-focused. However, being in the tiny Athens church allowed me to be a source of encouragement and love for my brothers and sisters there. Some of them even took a daily flight to come and see me. I was moved. These events changed my heart, and when I completed my military service, my heart was committed to Athens.
A few months after leaving the military, I landed my first job in Athens, which allowed me to permanently move. During this time, I started helping out the church any way I could –sermons, discipling, and more. Despite my new found love for the Athens church of six disciples, I started to feel very lonely. I was encouraged by my dear friend Mirko Russo from Berlin to start attending the European conferences and expand my list of friends.
The first conference I attended was in Budapest, Hungary, in August 2004. I was very encouraged because not only did I expand my list of contacts with other disciples, I met a sister there named Meri.
At first, we encouraged each other through email, but a friendship just took off. However, I was also interested in two other sisters at that time. So I decided to make a list of character traits, values, and interests that I wanted in a wife, and I presented this list to God in prayer.
God was again faithful and within six months, he made it very clear to me who was climbing up on my list and who wasn’t. Despite this clear answer to prayer, my sinful heart was more interested in the sister on the bottom. However, this sister ended up leaving the church. God opened my eyes to see that Meri, the one highest on my list, was The One. So I plunged forward. I got in touch with the sisters in her life, church leaders, and best friends. I arranged dates, phone calls, bus rides, and an occasional surprise trip to Bulgaria, where she lived!
This was a very refreshing time in my life. We started distant dating in April 1st, 2005, and six months later she decided to take a step of faith. So she left her three jobs in Bulgaria and her familiar surroundings and moved to Greece for three months to test things out with me from a closer distance. (Thank you Jan and Irene for hosting Meri for me with so much love and patience.) Within the three months of her arrival, I asked her to be my wife. And in the summer of 2006, the Bulgarian church helped us have a wonderful wedding ceremony at the Botanic Garden of Sofia.
Life and faith in Athens can be challenging in many ways. However, the simplicity of God’s word penetrates the difficult layers of tradition and historic pride. Also the needs of the church are too many, and the hands too few. But during these times, I realize what a helper I have in my wife, who serves to remind me what a faithful and loyal friend I have in Jesus.
My graceful God has given me abundance of blessings and many more stories, experiences, and revelations to share perhaps at some later time. But I hope and pray my own story will serve as a reminder to me and everyone else of how specific God can be and how perfect His will is, no matter if He chooses to reveal it fully or just partially to us.
I just hope my life will keep giving my Lord and Saviour the glory He deserves.
In His precious name, Amen.
Theophanis Roropoulos – Athens, Greece
