3 Surprising Ways that Ravi Zacharias and His Ministry Has Impacted My Life

I have been a fan of Ravi Zacharias. He is an international apologist who was born in India and later educated in the West. In some sense, he is like the Apostle Paul, whose background has allowed him to speak to both audience from the east and west. And I have been following his writings since I became a Christian, and became one of the ardent fans of Ravi Zacharias eventually. As an apologetic junkie, his works became something that I have grown to respect and appreciate.

As such, it was sad and poignant when I first heard of the news below:

https://www.facebook.com/ravizacharias/posts/10156973283381813

This prompted me to reflect how Ravi Zacharias has impacted me as a theologian and a minister of God.

Ravi Zacharias’ life inspired me to live a life fully for God

Reading about Ravi Zacharias’ life from his memoir has been an inspiring journey for me. His life is so much inspiring to me and the sacrifices he made just remind me of a life that denies himself and carries the cross. As such, it was indeed a highlight to be able to hear him speak back in 2013 when he visited Singapore. I wished that I could ask him out for a coffee to hear his thoughts on a more personal level, but I remained contented.

Nevertheless, reading how he has devoted his life to God helped me to conceptualise how I can devote my life to God as well. I joined a full-time ministry shortly after his visit to Singapore in 2014 where I had the opportunity to work with RZIM Asia Pacific further on other projects and while my own path has taken another turn after that, the seed was planted. I was glad that there is a giant of the faith who has modelled what a life fully devoted to God would look like.

His writings taught me to think and reflect logically about issues

Before 2014, I would say that most of my theological thinking on a lot of issues stemmed from his writings. But more importantly, my conviction to go on the path to develop the intellectual side of my faith originated from him, whose ministry aimed to bridge the gap between the mind and the heart.

It was because of listening to the podcasts and reading his books that I have learned to develop my thinking and reflections about issues pertaining to the society and the defense of the Christian faith such as this. In some sense, some of the contents in this blog are heavily indebted to some of the works that Ravi Zacharias has worked on, even though as I learn more about how to exegete the Bible, I have learned to develop my own views on some of the issues he has addressed

Following his ministry encouraged me to want to learn more about God

For those who follow RZIM will know that the ministry aims to help thinkers believe and believers think. This means that a lot of times, its speakers, including Ravi Zacharias, find themselves in situations where tough questions are being asked about the Christian faith. The manner which they have addressed these questions is simply astounding. And this has encouraged me over time to explore the possibility of further studies. I have posted my reflection in my previous blog.

While the journey was a culmination of many things that God has brought to my path, the ministry started by Ravi Zacharias has definitely made an imprint in my journey to want to learn more about God and how to answer the questions about Him.

In short, perhaps this website would not have existed if not for the influence of his ministry.

There is therefore no question that Ravi Zacharias has impacted many people, including myself. So, it was sad to hear about the news about his cancer. But we continue to bear in mind, that giants have come and gone. We have seen the likes of Billy Graham and others coming into the scene to advance God’s Kingdom. But God will continue to rise up more people to do His work.

So maybe looking at the life of these giants, such as Ravi Zacharias, one should perhaps ask, how can we participate in His works and be at the centre of it?

Share with me your thoughts in your comments. I would love to hear from you.