How Jesus Gave Mark Wahlberg a Repentant Heart

How Jesus Gave Mark Wahlberg a Repentant Heart

By Tess Farrand, Associate Content Editor

Jesus captured Mark Wahlberg’s heart after the INSTANT FAMILY actor landed in prison in 1988.

“I had a lot of time to myself and most of that time I spent running around the streets getting a street education. I left school at an early age. I quit school at 13. I ended up getting into a lot of trouble being incarcerated, tried as an adult at 16, 17 and that was a big wake-up call for me,” Wahlberg told a priest.

Then Wahlberg made a substantial change while behind bars.

“I decided, you know what, I needed to turn my life around and a lot of people go to God especially when they get in trouble,” said Wahlberg. “When I heard the jail doors closed behind me, I started praying right away but I knew that that was just the beginning for me, because I knew I really wanted to turn my life around and I made a commitment that day.”

These days, Wahlberg isn’t ashamed of his faith, even in Hollywood.

“Look, I will not hide the fact that I love the Lord and I want to be committed to serving the Lord, but I also don’t jam it down anybody’s throat,” said Wahlberg on TODAY in a previous interview. “But it’s better to never have known God than to deny God. I mean, that’s not a good look. That’s not a good look.”

Wahlberg doesn’t condone his behavior from his pre-Jesus days, but he looks to pay his blessings forward.

“If I could go back and do a lot of things over I would,” said Wahlberg. “I think the way that I can kind of continue to, you know, to give back and to do things for other people.”

Wahlberg’s conviction of faith is something he hopes that his children will see and emulate in their own lives.

“I want to be an example to my children. They know they’re getting a faith-based education but I don’t force them to go to church,” Wahlberg explained. Instead, Wahlberg wants them to want ask questions about why their father does the things he does when it comes to faith, “With me, they know that it’s not even an option for me to not go to Mass or to not take my time to pray and to do those things.”

Most recently, Wahlberg voiced a character in the family-friendly movie SCOOB!