Before Jesus Changed My Life

I grew up going to church and knowing about Jesus, but I did not truly understand what it meant to follow Him. For a long time, I was focused more on the things of the world than on my relationship with God. I made choices that pulled me further away from Him and allowed other things to become more important in my life. Over time, I began to realize that I needed something more than what the world could offer. Toward the end of high school, I started taking my faith more seriously and becoming more open to what it truly meant to follow Jesus.

How Jesus Changed My Life

In April of 2025, I met someone who encouraged me to grow in my faith. That summer, I went to Salt, which helped me take a deeper look at my faith and what it meant to truly follow Jesus. When I came to college, I took Gospel 101, and that was when the Gospel became real to me in a way it had not before. Since then, I have been pursuing Jesus as faithfully as I can and learning what it means to repent of my sin and follow Him. Over Christmas break, I experienced the loss of people and things that were very important to me. Although that was a difficult time, it showed me how much I need Jesus and reminded me to trust in Him through difficult circumstances. I have come to understand that the Gospel is God sending His only Son, Jesus, so that we can be made right with God. We are sinners and deserve death, but because of God's grace and the free gift He offers, we can have eternal life through Jesus Christ. Jesus died on the cross for our sins, and through repentance and belief in Him, we can turn toward God and have a relationship with Him. Romans 6:23 says, “For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

My Life After Jesus Saved Me

Since coming to Christ, I have experienced more joy and a greater sense of peace. I still experience anxiety and difficult circumstances, but I have learned to bring those things to God through prayer and trust that He is ultimately in control. My faith has also changed the way I view my life. Instead of relying on myself or the things of the world, I am learning to rely on Jesus and pursue Him daily. I know that my hope of eternal life is not based on what I can accomplish, but on what Jesus has already done through His death and resurrection.1 John 5:11-13 says, “And this is the testimony, that God gave us eternal life, and this life is in His Son. Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life. I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, that you may know that you have eternal life.”Jesus has changed the direction of my life, and I want to continue growing in my faith, turning away from sin, and following Him.