Eddie Gorniak
When I was 17 I had an encounter with God that changed my life totally. Up to that point I really didn't know whether there was a God or not. and I wasn't really concerned whether he cared for me. In fact it seemed as I looked around me, from my circumstances, it was more like God did not care for me. I grew up in a small place called Partington on the outskirts of Manchester.
My father came from Poland and he worked very hard indeed but through him working hard he became an alcoholic who relied upon drink and gambling. I would often come home and find him arguing with my mum and fighting with her about the finances and gambling. My mum worked very hard indeed - in fact she would work all the hours that God could send her. This took its toll on the family. I grew up with two sisters. The family went through difficult situations but mum and dad tried to do as much as they could for us.
It wasn't very long until I fell into the wrong crowd and became mixed up with a group called the bikers or the rockers of the day, The Devil’s Disciples. It was in this group that I found something that I had not found in my family. It was comradeship. If we were going to do anything we did it together and it was something that was special for me. I stayed with The Devil’s Disciples for a long time, until one day a friend of mine came and said how about going to church. When he asked me to church, there seemed to be a smile on his face that I'd never seen before. I said “No, I don't think”, so he said “Well there are girls there”. That persuaded me. Girls played a big part in my life for good or bad but on this occasion it was the factor that took me to church.
We were greeted at the door by a man who welcomed us by saying “Praise the Lord brother. It's nice to see you here”. I was surprised at this greeting because he held out his hand to shake mine. This was not the usual greeting we received. We went in and as we went through the door we saw an amazing sight - the church was full of people not just old people but lots of different age groups and they all seemed to be having a really great time. One young person told how he was hooked on drugs and his life was going nowhere, then he met Jesus and Jesus changed his life. Another young girl told how she was an alcoholic but Jesus set her free.
Then a young girl spoke about her family and shared how there was no love in her family but now she loved Jesus and he loved her so much that he gave his life for her on the cross. I wanted to heckle but I couldn’t because I could see from her face that something had happened to her. Her face was glowing with joy.
The preacher got up to speak and began to explain how Jesus loved me with all my faults and sins and how he was willing to die on the cross for me because he loved me.
Then something incredibly marvellous and wonderful happened to me. I heard God speak to me not in a audible voice but in my heart. He called me by name, “Eddie I died for you what will you do for me?” I looked at my two friends and I asked them if they spoke to me. They said no and I thought that I was going crazy. Where did this voice come from? Was it really God and why was he speaking to me? Why was he talking to me when I had taken his name in vain many times? In fact I had said in my heart that there was no God; that he did not care about me.
Just then the preacher said “If there is someone here tonight that God is speaking to he wants you to come and give your life to him”. I was just about to ignore it totally and I heard the voice again - the same words, “Eddie, I died for you, what will you do for me?” I knew then that it was God who was speaking to me and I began to shake. My friends asked me what was wrong but I couldn't tell them that I knew God was speaking to me.
The preacher said there is someone here tonight God is speaking to and he wants you to give your life to him.
He wants you to get up out of your seat and to come down to the front and give you life to Jesus. I knew that I had to do something about it. Either I was going to ignore it totally and say that God did not care, that he did not exist, or admit that I was a sinner and that I needed saving.
The battle was now on. The devil was telling me not to give my life to Jesus because if I did then it would be a very real issue. I would be looked upon as one who had got religion. I would be abandoned by my mates and put out of the gang. I would be ridiculed and made fun of. And yet I knew I had to do something.
While I was deciding I heard God's voice speaking to me again the same words, “Eddie, I died for you; what will you do for me?”
I looked at my two friends and I thought, which one of these would die for me knowing who I was, what I had done, and the answer was none. But here was Jesus someone I thought did not exist - and I found that he loved me so much he was willing to give his life for me. I decided I would respond to God's call on my life.
I got up out of my seat, and as I did so I felt the whole world was resting on my shoulders.
I got to the front and the preacher came to me and asked me to kneel.
I told him that it should be him who should kneel for me; didn’t he realise who I was? I was a member of a biker gang. He said to me, “Don’t kneel for me, kneel for Jesus”. Before I knew it, I was on my knees. He told me to confess all of the bad things I had done in my life. I thought we could be hear a long time so I confessed one of the things I had done wrong and the weight of the burden seem to get lighter. I confessed something else and something else and something else, and as I did so the burden became lighter and lighter. It felt really good.
Then something terrible happened and I couldn't control it, I began to cry. I felt the tears welling in my eyes and I couldn’t do anything about them. They began to pour out onto my cheeks and down my chin. I tried to brush them away and said to myself “I must not do this. I must control myself. I must be tough. What would my friends think of me?” But I couldn’t help myself. I began to cry out loud, not with sadness but with great joy. I had never felt so good and knew something had happened to me. On the outside I was still the same but on the inside, I was different. I remember laughing out loud, something I hadn't done for a long while. I was so thrilled, so excited, so full of joy and peace and love, that I got up and ran out of the church.
I stood at the door looking for someone I could tell. I saw someone and ran up to him. Grabbing him by the lapels of his jacket, I shook him up and down said “Jesus loves you. Get saved.” The man looked down at me. He must have thought I was crazy or on drugs. Here was a biker telling him about Jesus. He spat at me and as the spittle ran down my cheek mingled with tears, I couldn't understand why he did not want this new joy, this new peace, this new love I had found. I stood there dumbfounded.
I heard God speak to me again, “Eddie, you were like that only an hour ago. I want you to go and tell people about my love for them, to share the good news that I was willing to die for them on the cross. Sometimes you will receive this reaction and other times people will receive my word and receive my forgiveness for their sins and receive my joy my peace and my love.” I knew from that moment that my life would never be the same again and that I would seek to serve God with all my heart and proclaim the message he had given me that day.