How my hatred turned to love
For someone who’d seen the transformation of their own dad, Calum Mackenzie’s attitude to the Almighty looked odd: “I hated even the mention of God.”
As a child, his views were different, he told premierchristianity.com. Mackenzie remembers: “One day, as we walked along the road, I held [Dad’s] hand and said: ‘I like you being a Christian.’ He asked: ‘Why’s that, son?’ I said: ‘Because you don’t smash the house up anymore.’”
His father had been a criminal and football hooligan who’d gone to prison and, when he was out of jail, was a verbally abusive drunk.
“But when I was six years old, a Christian – who was also a former criminal – gave him John’s Gospel. Dad read it in one night and, within a week, he had completely changed. Because of that, my mum became a Christian too.”
His father went into ministry, so Mackenzie grew up as a pastor’s son but, by his teenage years, still wasn’t a Christian.
“I decided to do a youth work degree but, in my third year, I made the mistake of moving back into halls of residence, away from my Christian housemates. Soon, I was feeling weighed down by guilt and not spending enough time reading my Bible or in prayer. I was constantly beating myself up.
“I was looking at all the other students living carefree lives, doing what they wanted. So, I turned my back on God. I started dating a non-Christian girl. I tried everything, from drugs to drink to sex. I had multiple partners, got married, then divorced.
… story continues
