Christabel Makaza

As a young girl, Christabel Makaza tried to be well behaved but would it be enough to ensure her eternity?

In her early years, Christabel, who comes from Zimbabwe, thought that being good meant attending school and getting good grades. She also thought that going to church and Sunday school wouldn’t hurt to make a good impression and, after all, her parents were church leaders.

“I thought everything was fine as long as I was going to church every Sunday and did house to house visits with my father,” Christabel says. “We lived in the rural province of Gokwe and education was very important.

“I did very well in primary school, always getting the best grades and I aspired to become an air hostess. I believed that good grades were the key to a good career and fame.”

Then, one day, the Jesus film was shown at Christabel’s school and she realised that trying to be good was not the best way to live a happy life. Achieving good grades and going to church were good things but they did not give her assurance that she would go to heaven when she died.

“I learnt that God loves me and that is why He sent His son Jesus Christ to die on the cross,” she recalls. “An imperfect person cannot enter the presence of our perfect Creator, and the only way I could be saved from the punishment I deserved for my sin, was to turn from living my own way, and trust that Jesus took the punishment for me.

“After realising what I needed to do, I sought to know more about Jesus Christ and accepted Him as my Lord and Saviour. I asked God to forgive me and to wash away all my sin through what Jesus had done for me. I was 14 years old at this time and it still remains the greatest day of my life!”

As the Spirit of God changed her heart, Christabel began to read any Christian materials she could find. She wrote to different Christian organisations, and asked her parents to place her in a Christian secondary school where she received spiritual nourishment, so her love and desire to work for God, could increase.

“I completed my O levels,” she says, “and got married to a wonderful godly man. More recently I have taken the position of church secretary after resigning from my job in human resource management due to ill health. I also lead the widows and single parents meetings at the church. At the moment I am completing a course that will allow me to minister to people with HIV/AIDS.

“My desire is to make a difference in people’s lives and to bring Christ to those who do not know Him. He alone can give hope to the underprivileged and comfort and care to the bereaved. He is the builder of family’s,” Christabel concludes.

Christabel’s changed life accords with a Bible passage from Titus chapter 2, verses 11-14Titus chapter 2, verses 11-14: “We wait for the blessed hope — the glorious appearing of our great God and Saviour, Jesus Christ, who gave Himself [as a sacrifice for our sin] …to redeem us from all wickedness and to purify for Himself a people that are His very own, eager to do what is good.”