Nick Breit: A Snapshot from 1985
My Memorial
I was running late for a very
important date. More precisely, I was
late for a very important running
date.
Barry Devine was a
49-year-old professor at CSUN during my years there. Never short on ambition or energy, Barry’s
goal was to run 50 miles on his 50th birthday…and I was just the
weirdo to help him train!
Tardy, I sprang around the
corner and into Dr. Devine’s shared office space. Barry was not there, but his officemate, Dr.
Nick Breit, was very much present anticipating his next “divine appointment”.
Frustrated and breathless I
gasped, “Oh hey, Dr. Breit, have you seen Barry…errr…Dr. Devine?”
“He left maybe 5 minutes ago
on one of his crazy runs…what’s your name, young man?”
‘Oh geesh, here we go’, I thought. I
knew of Dr. Breit, but didn’t really
know him. He had talked with nearly all
my friends about his Jesus. Nick was the
resident “Jesus Freak”.
Since I missed my running
date with Dr. Devine, I figured now would be as good as any other time to set
this guy straight. I was sure of my
superior intellect as I noticed the big, leather-bound Bible on the front edge
of his desk.
Typical of haughty pride, I
fired away. My “questions” were not so
much begging answers, but rapid objections to the faith I thought he had, not the faith he
actually had. Turns out my
“sophisticated” questions were probably the top 5 queries most skeptics have
about Biblical Christianity…and Dr. Breit (hereafter, Nick) had answered them
all before…many times.
Familiar with my type, Nick
was prepared, gentle, and respectful (c.f., 1 Pet. 3:13-17, esp. v. 15: “but in your hearts honor Christ
the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks
you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and
respect”). He also knew that my
questions were a thin veil – a smokescreen, if you like – over my real
issue: I was a sinner in need of a
Savior!
Nick was the first
Christian I’ve known who had actually thought through his answers to these
questions. It was palpable. Mine were softball lobs to Nick, but he
didn’t make me feel silly for the asking.
He was particularly kind and gentle and compassionate when he answered
my questions about the problem of evil and suffering in the world.
I had told Nick about my
younger brother’s tragic, untimely death in a car accident just a
year-and-a-half earlier. Emotions still raw
from the surreal cataclysm of the abrupt loss of my 19-year-old brother, Nick’s
approach in the handling of my heart was nothing less than paternal…divinely
paternal. It was a holy moment, and I
didn’t know what holy was. All I know is
this: When my tear-brimmed eyes met his
kind, compassionate, even gentle gaze, I knew he was not the Christian
caricature I had constructed in my mind.
Somehow, I knew Nick was telling me the Truth…
Nick had won my
trust. So, what does he do? Asks me to attend Lynn Martini’s baptism at
his church that night. Bewildered, I
asked, “She hasn’t been baptized yet?”
“No, Lynn just placed her trust in Jesus as Lord and Savior. We believe you get baptized after you become
a Christian”. Nick tried to show me in
the Scripture where the order is described as believe, then be baptized, but I
was beyond capacity for his Biblical instruction for the day, so I said, “Sure,
I’ll go!”
Person after person
descended into the baptism Jacuzzi to tell their story. The fifty-ish-year-old man performing baptism
for the penitent new believers seemed careful to discern the veracity of each
conversion story. My mind was
blown. I identified with EVERY
story. It was as though God was speaking
– no, SHOUTING - only to me. “You must
turn from your current sin-filled life to Me, the only One who can save you
when you die”, seemed to be what I was hearing.
Then Lynn stepped into the
water. Through sobs, she told of her Catholic
upbringing, her confusion about who Jesus was, trying to be “good”, and her
sinful choices along the way. Lynn was
telling MY story.
The pastor confirmed
Lynn’s story of repentance and faith and asked, “So Lynn, you now believe that
you are saved by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone?” Her immediate, exuberant response was
“YES!” Pastor John said, “Lynn, based on
your testimony I now baptize you in the Name of the Father and of the Son and
of the Holy Spirit.”
When Lynn came up from the
water she would have split her lip had she smiled any further! And I was again tear-brimmed and stunned
speechless as to what was happening to me…I left the church without saying
goodbye to Nick or Lynn.
Restless is too weak, but
agitated is too strong to describe my soul’s condition that night. I was on the precipice of life and death.
The next day I was running
up Tampa Ave. in Northridge, CA. At
about 1.75 miles into this familiar training run I prayed the best I could,
“God. I mean, Jesus. Well, I guess
You’re the same...but not really. Well
anyway Jesus, I want to turn away from my sin-filled lifestyle and trust You to
be my Lord and Savior. I think what
Nick’s been telling me is true, and I’m not even sure why. I believe You died to pay the price for all
my sins. Please help me understand.
Thank You. Amen”.
At the 6-mile turn-around
point I was all alone on top of a hill, heaving. Not hurling, heaving…great sobs of joy that I was now a child of God, headed for
heaven! I cannot explain why, but I
found myself kneeling in the dirt, hands stretched to heaven, repeatedly
whispering, “Thank You Jesus, Thank You Jesus, Thank You Jesus”.
The next day could not
have come fast enough. One again I
sprang into (this time) Dr. Breit’s office.
He was there! I instantly began
to weep, muttering unintelligible stuff about my salvation experience while
running the previous afternoon. Nick
said, “Sounds like you’re ready to trust Christ, pal”. “Well, I think I already did, but let’s do it
again!” Not to confuse me with finer
points of doctrine of justification, Nick said, “Let’s pray”. Unspeakable joy… Unexplainable peace…
By God’s grace, Nick Breit
was the human means the Holy Spirit used to preach the Gospel to me. The vast legacy Nick leaves is for someone
else to write. Suffice to say, because
Nick was obedient to open wide his mouth with the Gospel message, even in the
face of my haughty, pride-filled, even sarcastic objections, my family and I
now serve as missionaries, full-time.
As a result, the Scripture rings true when Jesus is praying to the
Father for His disciples in John 17:20:
“I do not ask for these only, but also for those who will believe in me
through their word”. Believer, Jesus
Himself prayed not only for His disciples, but all those who would believe in
Him through their words of witness. Nick
was a faithful witness! Are you? Will
you be?
Thanks Dr. Breit. You were one of the most amazing men I’ve
ever known. See you soon! Maranatha!
