Hi all,
I guess everyone of us (in India) know who Johny Lever is, right? Recently, I read his testimony of coming to Christ in facebook and I found it quite encouraging and uplifting. So, I thought I would share it with you all and be blessed by his testimony as I have been.
[COLOR=#333333 !important]The name Johnny Lever is a name which make’s millions of Indians laugh. His very presence on the film screen brings roars of laughter; his antics and performances have won him awards and admirers. The mention of his name adds to the star quality of the film. Yet very few people know that Johnny’s childhood was a tough one which many would have found hard to survive. Johnny was just
]
10 years old when he used to dance on the stage and he would also work in a wine shop. He would sell chana(peanuts) in the wine shop & do odd jobs for them. He had to work so that his family could make two ends meet. He would work in the wine shop and give the money at home and the next day morning he would go to school. ‘ At a very young age I was giving money at home and the kitchen fires were burning because of me. Early next morning I used to go to school, how do you think I could concentrate on my studies? I studied till seventh standard. Then from there I did different things to earn my living. I would sell in the trains & do business on the roads. I sold sweet limes & chikkis( peanut cakes) in the trains & did many other odd jobs to survive,’ said Johnny remembering those days of hardship.
Even while he was working odd jobs, Johnny Lever made sure about one thing – that he didn’t miss going to church. But he was still not able to cope up with the many pressures of life. There were many instances when Johnny Lever contemplated ending his life. ‘Once I went to the extent of committing suicide by falling in front of a running train. I was 14 years old then, I had so many burdens on my head then as I was walking on the railway track the train was approaching towards me and suddenly I remembered my three sisters in a flash, the thought just struck me – what will happen to them as I am the eldest? And the thought that I should live for them came into my mind. I still don’t know how I got off the tracks. Just as I moved away, the train sped. Everyone from the train screamed, ‘Hey do you want to die, do you want to die?’’ said Johnny.
Johnny just carried on with his remarkable ability to laugh at life and to make people laugh and soon this saw him transform into Johnny Lever. ‘I was working for Hindustan Levers Company even there I would imitate, as I did in my school days. I would imitate the teachers. In the factory I would imitate the officers there. From there I got the name Lever. Johnny Lever,’ said Johnny.
Johnny Lever’s flair for mimicry and comedy slowly got recognition as he started doing stage shows; this became his springboard to the Hindi film industry. Soon Johnny Lever became a household name ‘When God gives you He gives you beyond your understanding. I am a person who lived in the slums, whatever role I enact in my films its all taken from the characters I have seen in my work place, the language is from the area I had lived. If I were not born in that slum area, if I did not see that atmosphere, I would not have become such a good artist today,’ said Johnny.
Success, fame and money were a heady mixture for Johnny Lever and he was living out his dream. And through out he continued making his audiences laugh but deep inside, his heart gave away. ‘I was achieving success, when a man from humble beginnings achieves and becomes rich he forgets his roots. Success came to me and it got into my head. Slowly, slowly I deviated from the Lord and I went away from Jesus. And I would think this is ok & all right to do, I would compromise on things …its fine… like that. Then I started living according to my own will & I was trying to erase the problems I faced in my childhood by living life on my own terms…according to my own wish,’ Johnny remembered. He was drinking and staying awake the whole night with his friends for such things. He began to act the way successful men did. But soon Johnny Lever’s life was to be shaken… his son Jesse fell ill.
Johnny’s son Jesse became sick and was diagnosed to have a tumor that slowly grew and became big on his neck. This alarmed Johnny and he took his son to the hospital. The doctors said that he would have to be operated. When they operated they saw the tumour and said that the left hand will have to be completely removed. A nerve will have to be cut while operating on the tumor and due to this his hand will not work so he will not have one hand for the rest of his life.
When the doctors asked Johnny what they should do, he told them not to operate on his son. Then he got scared and tried out finding a cure through Homeopathic medicine and Ayurvedic medicine. Johnny’s wife Sujatha too met babas and pandits, who told her that Jesse was not going to make it and that his life span was very short. Fearing that Johnny would become all the more tense learning about this she decided to keep everything to herself and suffer.
When everything they tried failed, Johnny Lever and his family looked up to the one they had forgotten along the way – Jesus Christ. Johnny finally felt that he had come home. ‘I trusted in the Lord completely because I started attending a lot of prayer meetings and I had seen God’s grace, I had seen the power of God. Earlier I was just a namesake Christian but when I experienced Jesus personally & saw the healings & the power of the Holy Spirit I was sure that Jesse will be healed,’ said Johnny.
When Johnny and his wife met their son after the operation, he was saying ‘Hi!’ with the same hand which they were told would never move. The incident brought the family closer together and once again, Johnny’s life took a turn for the better. ‘I am very good on the outside. People think, Johnny Lever is a nice person, he is good-natured, and very good. How good Johnny Lever really is only I know & my wife knows. What is inside of me only I know… How am I deep inside only I know. Jesus washed away the dirt that was within me. And whatever bad habits I had like playing cards, drinking etc. all those have now gone. And I have completely become clean & pure’.
And Johnny finally found something he had been missing all his life. ‘The biggest blessing that I have found is peace. Today I am a very successful person; there is no dearth for money. There are so many films on hand some of them I do not even accept. Now I am very relaxed even while working. I can now discern what I should and what I shouldn’t do. I have found peace. Earlier I was restless, even in my house. I never felt like going home, because there is no peace. You have everything fame, money, you have got friends, everything but you don’t have peace. What life is this? Because you don’t have Jesus in your life, you don’t have peace. When Jesus enters your life peace enters,’ said Johnny with conviction.
Today Johnny Lever takes every opportunity to share the good news of Jesus Christ. As Johnny Lever laughs his way into people’s hearts, He knows it’s the joy that comes from knowing Jesus.
Johnny Lever | CBN India
[/COLOR]
[/COLOR]
I guess everyone of us (in India) know who Johny Lever is, right? Recently, I read his testimony of coming to Christ in facebook and I found it quite encouraging and uplifting. So, I thought I would share it with you all and be blessed by his testimony as I have been.
[COLOR=#333333 !important]The name Johnny Lever is a name which make’s millions of Indians laugh. His very presence on the film screen brings roars of laughter; his antics and performances have won him awards and admirers. The mention of his name adds to the star quality of the film. Yet very few people know that Johnny’s childhood was a tough one which many would have found hard to survive. Johnny was just
]
10 years old when he used to dance on the stage and he would also work in a wine shop. He would sell chana(peanuts) in the wine shop & do odd jobs for them. He had to work so that his family could make two ends meet. He would work in the wine shop and give the money at home and the next day morning he would go to school. ‘ At a very young age I was giving money at home and the kitchen fires were burning because of me. Early next morning I used to go to school, how do you think I could concentrate on my studies? I studied till seventh standard. Then from there I did different things to earn my living. I would sell in the trains & do business on the roads. I sold sweet limes & chikkis( peanut cakes) in the trains & did many other odd jobs to survive,’ said Johnny remembering those days of hardship.
Even while he was working odd jobs, Johnny Lever made sure about one thing – that he didn’t miss going to church. But he was still not able to cope up with the many pressures of life. There were many instances when Johnny Lever contemplated ending his life. ‘Once I went to the extent of committing suicide by falling in front of a running train. I was 14 years old then, I had so many burdens on my head then as I was walking on the railway track the train was approaching towards me and suddenly I remembered my three sisters in a flash, the thought just struck me – what will happen to them as I am the eldest? And the thought that I should live for them came into my mind. I still don’t know how I got off the tracks. Just as I moved away, the train sped. Everyone from the train screamed, ‘Hey do you want to die, do you want to die?’’ said Johnny.
Johnny just carried on with his remarkable ability to laugh at life and to make people laugh and soon this saw him transform into Johnny Lever. ‘I was working for Hindustan Levers Company even there I would imitate, as I did in my school days. I would imitate the teachers. In the factory I would imitate the officers there. From there I got the name Lever. Johnny Lever,’ said Johnny.
Johnny Lever’s flair for mimicry and comedy slowly got recognition as he started doing stage shows; this became his springboard to the Hindi film industry. Soon Johnny Lever became a household name ‘When God gives you He gives you beyond your understanding. I am a person who lived in the slums, whatever role I enact in my films its all taken from the characters I have seen in my work place, the language is from the area I had lived. If I were not born in that slum area, if I did not see that atmosphere, I would not have become such a good artist today,’ said Johnny.
Success, fame and money were a heady mixture for Johnny Lever and he was living out his dream. And through out he continued making his audiences laugh but deep inside, his heart gave away. ‘I was achieving success, when a man from humble beginnings achieves and becomes rich he forgets his roots. Success came to me and it got into my head. Slowly, slowly I deviated from the Lord and I went away from Jesus. And I would think this is ok & all right to do, I would compromise on things …its fine… like that. Then I started living according to my own will & I was trying to erase the problems I faced in my childhood by living life on my own terms…according to my own wish,’ Johnny remembered. He was drinking and staying awake the whole night with his friends for such things. He began to act the way successful men did. But soon Johnny Lever’s life was to be shaken… his son Jesse fell ill.
Johnny’s son Jesse became sick and was diagnosed to have a tumor that slowly grew and became big on his neck. This alarmed Johnny and he took his son to the hospital. The doctors said that he would have to be operated. When they operated they saw the tumour and said that the left hand will have to be completely removed. A nerve will have to be cut while operating on the tumor and due to this his hand will not work so he will not have one hand for the rest of his life.
When the doctors asked Johnny what they should do, he told them not to operate on his son. Then he got scared and tried out finding a cure through Homeopathic medicine and Ayurvedic medicine. Johnny’s wife Sujatha too met babas and pandits, who told her that Jesse was not going to make it and that his life span was very short. Fearing that Johnny would become all the more tense learning about this she decided to keep everything to herself and suffer.
When everything they tried failed, Johnny Lever and his family looked up to the one they had forgotten along the way – Jesus Christ. Johnny finally felt that he had come home. ‘I trusted in the Lord completely because I started attending a lot of prayer meetings and I had seen God’s grace, I had seen the power of God. Earlier I was just a namesake Christian but when I experienced Jesus personally & saw the healings & the power of the Holy Spirit I was sure that Jesse will be healed,’ said Johnny.
When Johnny and his wife met their son after the operation, he was saying ‘Hi!’ with the same hand which they were told would never move. The incident brought the family closer together and once again, Johnny’s life took a turn for the better. ‘I am very good on the outside. People think, Johnny Lever is a nice person, he is good-natured, and very good. How good Johnny Lever really is only I know & my wife knows. What is inside of me only I know… How am I deep inside only I know. Jesus washed away the dirt that was within me. And whatever bad habits I had like playing cards, drinking etc. all those have now gone. And I have completely become clean & pure’.
And Johnny finally found something he had been missing all his life. ‘The biggest blessing that I have found is peace. Today I am a very successful person; there is no dearth for money. There are so many films on hand some of them I do not even accept. Now I am very relaxed even while working. I can now discern what I should and what I shouldn’t do. I have found peace. Earlier I was restless, even in my house. I never felt like going home, because there is no peace. You have everything fame, money, you have got friends, everything but you don’t have peace. What life is this? Because you don’t have Jesus in your life, you don’t have peace. When Jesus enters your life peace enters,’ said Johnny with conviction.
Today Johnny Lever takes every opportunity to share the good news of Jesus Christ. As Johnny Lever laughs his way into people’s hearts, He knows it’s the joy that comes from knowing Jesus.
Johnny Lever | CBN India
[/COLOR]
[/COLOR]