Actor Kristoffer Polaha discussed his faith in Jesus Christ, explaining his journey through exploring various world religions before he came to God. Polaha noted that he spent six years in a spiritual “wilderness” before he came to Jesus.
Polaha was raised in a Christian home with two believing parents. However, he noted that he drifted from the faith as a teenager, seeking to take a “break” from praying and pursuing a Christian lifestyle.
“And I said, ‘So Lord, I’m not going to pray for six months, I’m just going to take a little break.’ And that six-month sojourn turned into the six years, sort of — I call it my time in the wilderness. I just kind of wandered. I still identified as a Christian, but I wasn’t behaving like a Christian,” Polaha said.
The actor further explained that while on a study-abroad program, he began to explore the beliefs of other religions out of curiosity. He noted that he didn’t solely want to be a Christian just because that’s what his parents were.
“And so when I was on this boat, I just wanted to see the whole world, and I wanted to study Shintoism and Buddhism and Islam and Judaism and … Hinduism,” he said. “I went to temples, and I listened to their prayers, and I talked to people. I was so curious. I became a student of world religion, because I wanted to understand. I [didn’t] want to just accept Jesus [only] because my parents did, and that was my culture.” He added, “I apologize to all the women that met me in those six years of my life … I was a selfish dude.”
However, Polaha explained how two monumental events completely changed his life. During one, he was nearly killed by an explosion while walking down a sidewalk in New York City, after which, he began to pray again.
He said, “The fire marshal was like, ‘You should have been decapitated. It’s a miracle that you’re alive.’ And the moment that that happened, my prayer life was activated. And all of a sudden, I had this yearning to go to God. And I would say at night, ‘God, I want to go to You, I want to go to You. I want You in my life. And I was craving relationship.’”
The second experience which shifted him toward God was when he met his wife, Julianne Morris. “It was just an instant love at first sight,” Polaha said. “… She was just such a smart, beautiful person, and came from this family where faith was the centerpiece. And all of a sudden, it was like faith in action. And that relationship became almost a metaphor for my relationship with God. And it started me on this journey of really wanting to dig in and understand my faith in a real way.”
The actor added that he and his wife would engage in meaningful conversations about faith. Polaha said, “And all of a sudden, the industry and the work that I was doing started to feel very foolish. And it started to kind of have an ashy taste. And my desire for it went away. And then, because of that, I would go on these auditions, and I didn’t want the jobs that I was auditioning for. And then, before you know it, I’m not working. And then, before you know it, the money starts to go. And before you know it, you need to work.”
Polaha eventually noted that he submitted himself to God, seeking his guidance. He said, “Lord, whatever You want, I want what You want from me. And if it’s a career in this business, open the doors. If it’s not, take me where You want me, put me where You want me to go.”
Featured image credit: vagueonthehow from Tadcaster, York, England, CC BY 2.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0>, via Wikimedia Commons, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Kristoffer_Polaha_(5983197878).jpg