The Course of my Spiritual Development

I had a completely normal upbringing and, as a young man, I had many hobbies and interests. I went to church regularly, but I did this out of pure convention rather than following a conviction to obey God's word. When I became a university student I moved away from home and gave up regular church attendance. I adopted to the general loose attitude concerning moral conventions.

When I met Petra, my wife-to-be, in 1996, I still maintained this attitude. Shortly after we met, we both began study-abroad programs, Petra in Toronto, Canada and I in Lulea, Sweden. During this long separation we carried out a very intensive email correspondence that brought us closer together on an intellectual level. Furthermore this separation became the acid test for our relationship, since I did not follow any moral guidance.

When Petra and I moved to Berlin, I adopted her spiritual interests. We began to attend church regularly and participated in the activities of the Sivananda Vedanta Center. I regularly practiced Yoga at home and read spiritual literature. The Bible however didn't play an important role in my life at that time.

In 1998 Petra and I moved to Wiesbaden and began to study the Bible with a married couple, Baerbel and Manfred Rieger, who belonged to the Jehova's Witnesses and served in the Bethel in Selters. The Bible and biblical literature became the focus of my spiritual studies. I am very grateful to the Jehova's Witnesses and particularly to the Riegers for the huge step in my spritiual and moral development that they made possible. Since 2002 I have served as an unbaptized gospel preacher.

I still have to fight with my human weaknesses and my earlier conditioning, but I have however found an aid that does not let me down, Jehova's spirit (Joh. 14:15 17). The spirit of Jehova gave me insight into the "more important things" (Phil. 1:10) of life. The following became all the more important to me, since our beloved daughter Lena came into the world:

· to provide for those who are my own (1 Tim. 5:8).

· to have Jehova's words on my heart and impress them on those who are my own (5 Mose 6:6,7).

· prove love to my wife (Epheser 5:28).

· to support the family financially (2 Kor. 12:14b).

· to have 'tender compassion' for others especially for those who are brothers in faith (1 Joh. 3:17).

It requires a great deal of time to carry out these tasks (Eph. 5:16). This necessity has caused me to quit my job in Frankfurt and to look for work close to home. Similarly I have simplified my life and have become more modest (1 Tim. 6:8). It takes a lot of work to realize all of these goals and this work will no doubt last a lifetime. Micah 6:8 however encourages us, when he says that God does not require anything of us, that we cannot give:

"He has told you, O earthling man, what is good. And what is Jehovah asking back from you but to exercise justice and to love kindness and to be modest in walking with your God?"