Jonathan is today an elder in his church. But his story with Jesus begins far from there, in a life with no faith, no Christ, and no room for God. Here is his testimony, as he shared it before the congregation.
A childhood without God, but with a clear plan
Jonathan grew up in a family of five children. His mother carried a heavy load: a wounded Catholic background and four divorces behind her. His father, who had trained for the seminary before meeting his mother, passed away when Jonathan was 14, after ten years living with multiple sclerosis in a wheelchair. From the age of 10, a stepfather, Waxman, whose name he carries today, took over raising him.
As for faith, there was almost none. A Catholic baptism at 3 months old, a few cultural markers, but no personal conviction. Jonathan describes himself back then as a "good little" atheist boy, with three clear priorities: a career (accounting), a family, and a certain balance. God simply wasn't part of the plan.
The "little angel" he didn't know how to welcome
While preparing for his vocational accounting diploma, Jonathan met Elisabeth. He fell in love with her. But he quickly ran into her faith: she was a Christian, committed, serving, spending her weeks at church. He understood none of it.
His first reaction wasn't outright rejection, it was a demand for respect: "Respect me in my atheism the way I respect you in your faith." He loved Elisabeth, but he rejected the other half of her life. He remained completely closed off to what she shared with him.
Years of complicated ups and downs followed, with many breakups. Each time, the effect on Jonathan was the opposite of what you'd expect: the clearer it became that he couldn't stay with Elisabeth without Christ, the more he dug in his heels. He had come to understand that faith is something personal, and he flatly refused to fake it, even to keep her.
The turning point: a young woman praying for his salvation
What changed everything was a shift in Elisabeth's prayers. At some point, she stopped praying for their relationship and started praying for his salvation instead. Jonathan is convinced that was the decisive moment: "There's no magic formula, only the grace of our God."
The first time he set foot in church, he walked out in the middle of the message. He stood up, left, and told her plainly: "This isn't for me." In his view, faith was "for the weak." He felt balanced, he needed nothing more.
An audio cassette in an empty house
The turning point came while Elisabeth was away for a month in Mexico. Before leaving, she'd left him an audio cassette: a simple worship tape she'd asked him to listen to, one Jonathan had, until then, set aside.
One day, he played it. It wasn't the music that moved him, nor Elisabeth's voice, which he already knew well. It was the prayers. He heard her speaking to someone. Not reciting, not performing: speaking. "She's really talking to someone, and I can't afford to miss out on that."
There, in that empty house, a question became unbearable: who was he, in his pride, to decide to ignore the One who created this world?
The pact that still holds today
That day, Jonathan fell to his knees and made a very concrete pact with God. He said, in essence: "I don't know what I'm doing. But if there are barriers, things standing in the way of you entering my life, I want them to fall. I'll go to church. If in two weeks, three weeks, a month, nothing has changed, if my life is still the same, forgive me, I'll close the door again."
Elisabeth was still in Mexico. That Sunday, he went to church alone. It was just him and God. That day, as he puts it: "He came in through the door as Christ the Lord, and He became Christ the Savior." A call was made for anyone who wanted to receive Christ into their heart. He responded. He gave himself fully.
Twenty-five years later, the pact still holds. Jonathan puts it soberly: he has "never felt a down." Elisabeth never left either: they're still together.
A plan turned upside down for a better one
Jonathan's faith didn't stay theoretical. Once he finished his accounting diploma, he made a very specific request: if God opened a scholarship for him to study in the United States, he would go train at a Bible school there. The scholarship came. They spent two years in the United States. A son, Esteban, was born there.
His three former pillars (career, family, balance) weren't swept away: they were reordered. God took first place. Everything else found a meaning it hadn't had before.
What God changed in him
Jonathan speaks with particular restraint about God's love. It's the hardest part to put into words, he says, because it comes to fill you. Two things stand out in his testimony:
- He discovered he was weak. The man who once thought faith was "for the weak" came to see just how weak he himself was, and just how much he needed Christ.
- He found a rock. In hardship, his confidence no longer comes from himself: "It's not us who stand firm, it's Him. It's to Him we hold firm, and it's in Him that we stand."
He doesn't hide the objections he once raised against God, including the hardest one: "How can I believe in a God who took my father from me and, on top of that, wants to take away the woman I love?" Those excuses fell apart when God came in to fill the gap. Not to explain, but to fill. To give meaning.
Key takeaways
- A story with Jesus rarely begins with a demonstration: it often begins with an unexpected encounter, a word, a moment when pride finally gives way.
- The prayer of someone else can do what our arguments never will. Elisabeth changed her prayer: she prayed for his salvation, not for their relationship.
- An honest step of faith means making yourself available without setting conditions for God, while still daring to tell Him clearly where you stand.
- God doesn't destroy our plans; He reorders them around Himself.
- A Christian's strength isn't in how well he holds on; it's in the One he holds on to.
Going further
- Is there a "barrier" in your life that you know needs to fall if you want God to truly come in?
- Who around you needs not your arguments, but your prayer for their salvation?
- Do you see God as a "God for the weak"? What does that say about what you expect from yourself?
- What clear "plan" might God want to reorder in your life today?
- When a trial makes you doubt, what rock are you actually standing on?
Verses cited
- Psalm 18:2 · "Yahweh is my rock, my fortress, and my deliverer." (the image of the rock that Jonathan referenced)
FAQ
Is it wrong to make a "pact" with God like Jonathan did?
What Jonathan calls a pact isn't a bargain. It's a man honestly telling God where he stands: "I'm coming without pretending, show yourself." The Bible invites us to seek God with all our heart (Jeremiah 29:13). What matters isn't the wording, it's a heart that truly opens up.
Why pray for a loved one's salvation rather than for a relationship?
Jonathan is convinced the turning point came the moment Elisabeth changed her prayer. Praying for a relationship asks God to serve our own plan; praying for a loved one's salvation entrusts them to God and lets Christ meet them right where they are. It's a shift of heart, not just of wording.
What if I go to church and feel like "this isn't for me"?
That's exactly what Jonathan said after his first service. It didn't stop him from becoming a Christian, and later an elder. Often, one visit isn't enough. Take the time to ask your questions honestly, without forcing your faith. God can reach you in unexpected ways, sometimes, as with Jonathan, in the silence of an empty house.
to take notes and ask questions.