My childhood was filled with all the wonderful memories and experiences childhoods should be filled with. As a young boy, I was drawn to anything that involved sports or creativity. If I wasn’t playing soccer or basketball, I was painting or drawing. My parents encouraged my imagination and so I spent my days dreaming and exploring about what I might be when I grew up. I also grew up in a home that taught me that God was the creator of all things. All the trees and skies and oceans where made by Him. Every human being and animal was made by him. As someone who loved to create, I was intrigued by the God who was the ultimate Creator.
My parents raised me in a church that taught me about the Bible. I knew about Noah and the ark, Joseph and his dreams, Moses and the red sea, Daniel and the lions’ den and the many heroes of the Bible. These were men who seemed to have great adventures as they trusted God. I wanted to be one of those men.
One day when I was riding in the car with my mom, she was listening to a preacher on the radio. He was talking about becoming a follower of Jesus. I asked her what he meant by that. She shared with me about what it means to become a Christian. At this point in my life, I simply knew there was a God who created me, I knew Jesus was God’s son and that he died on the cross for me, but I didn’t fully understand why he died or what it meant to truly have a relationship with Him and follow Him.
My mom shared with me that everyone is a sinner meaning they have disobeyed God. I certainly knew I was. I had disobeyed plenty of times. She told me that the Bible says that the consequence of sin is death, eternal separation from God after we die. But the good news was that we don’t have to be separated from God. The reason Jesus died on the cross was to pay for our sins and offer us eternal life to everyone who turns from their sins and places their trust in Him.
She asked me if I would like to become a Christian. I wasn’t sure I truly understood but I said yes anyways. She led me in a prayer. I remember just repeating her words and thinking this was pretty silly. From then, if anyone asked me if I was a Christian I would say yes because of that prayer (I kind of) prayed with my mom.
About a year later on a Saturday night, my parents were hosting a group of people from our church at our house. As a young boy, I would listen in on their conversations in our living room as they studied and talked about the Bible. My parents often hosted these kind of gatherings in our home. On this particular evening, I began to sense a stirring inside of me. An overwhelming conviction that I was not a Christian. Even though I had stumbled through that prayer with my mom, I knew that I had not truly repented of my sins turning away from my wrong doing and trusted in Jesus as the only one who could forgive my sins. I was so eager for the evening to be over with so I could talk to my parents. As soon as the last person left, I told my parents everything that was going on inside of me.
I very clearly remember sitting on the couch between my parents asking God to forgive my sins and telling Him that I wanted to receive His free gift of salvation that was made possible through His son Jesus’ death and resurrection. After I prayed, I remember walking to my room that evening with such an incredible peace and confidence. I will never forget the urgency of that evening and the peace that followed.
That same peace has followed me my entire life. I have been through many difficult days but that assurance and confidence has been there knowing that my salvation is firmly secure in Jesus. I have always loved the words of great hope and assurance found in 1 Peter 1:3-5 which says, “Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade. This inheritance is kept in heaven for you (for me), who through faith are shielded by God’s power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time.”
Because of Jesus, I know I will never perish but enjoy eternity with Him forever.