I was an executive in a company. A colleague had retired and died very suddenly.

My Bible: reasons to believe in the power of the Bible

‘I was an executive in a company. A colleague had retired and died very suddenly. He was a lovely man, and I went to his memorial service. We sang, “Do not be afraid for I have redeemed you, I have called you by your name, you are mine”. 

‘I was very moved by it. Hymns often move me to tears. I’m an emotional character and music is a big part of my life. I couldn’t find this hymn anywhere, but I remembered it. I thought about it a lot over the years, but hadn’t realised that it was a Bible text (Isaiah 43.1). 

‘When I started going to church more regularly, I was telling the vicar about this, and he said that the words were from the book of Isaiah. So, I googled it. It’s all there on YouTube if you know where to look!

‘The interesting thing was that it kept coming up. The most extraordinary time was when I was visiting Ypres and saw it on the altar at a German mass grave. It made me think how universal this appeal is. He is calling everybody, and calling us by name.

‘More recently, I have thought about how important the word “redeemed” is and what redemption really costs. It cost God Jesus’ life. 

‘It’s personal, and I feel that God has invested in me and the least I can do is try to follow Jesus’ teachings and do whatever I can, however inadequate and however late in life, to respond to that amazing grace and that work of redemption.’