Before Jesus Changed My Life
My story starts with God’s graciousness to me to be born in a Christian household. The opportunities to hear the gospel were ample. Although my early “faith” was marked by a “belief” born out of fear, and not the fear of the Lord. A child’s death in the family when I was age 4 led me to believe two lies. The first was that if you devote your life to Christ young, then God is more likely to call you home early (how else do you process the death of a child)? The second was that when you cling to that thought, you have blinders over every part of the gospel besides eternal life. There was no concept of my sin, just a yearning to live forever.
How Jesus Changed My Life
In late elementary school, the Lord blessed me with a friend who was walking in the light and didn’t want to go to summer camp alone. The camp was led by a God-fearing pastor who had been presenting the gospel to children for decades. It wasn’t an amp-up kids on sugar, provide zero sleep, and lead everyone through a specific prayer. It was a humble old house in the country, where we met in a living room that was too small, and they only charged us $15 for the whole two weeks. I remember him telling us, “No one needs to teach you how to love yourself”. My selfish and sinful heart was revealed to me. It was there that I understood that white-knuckling life would not get me to heaven, nor would anything by my own merit, "all our righteous acts are like filthy rags" Isaiah 64:6. Additionally, that my need for a Savior was not for a ticket to heaven but rather the forgiveness of my sin. In Ephesians 2:8-9, Paul writes, “For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast". God did a work in me so that over time I could become free in the fear of the Lord.
My Life After Jesus Saved Me
Even though God changed my life, I still struggle with the urge to take the reins. I’m given confidence through Isaiah 6 because I know He is accomplishing His will and my sole purpose is His glory. There is rest in the throne room of the Lord. It is foolishness to make any man the idol of my life. In addition, Ephesians 3:20 says, “God is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to His power that is at work in us”. This shows me my continuous, utter need to depend on Him. I am unable to do the will of the Father if I am not abiding in him. Every decision and obstacle is met with the simple question, “What is most God honoring”? I know I have eternal life through Jesus Christ because of His redeeming work on the cross.