How Jesus Changed My Life

You see, in public, I was a model child. Even from kindergarten onward, good grades, good behavior, and so on. It is quite possible as a child to say you’re a Christian and for everyone to assume it’s true. (The same is true of adults.) As for me, I was not born again.

I had the privilege of being raised in a home with committed believers. My dad is a first- generation Christian whom God rescued from atheism. My mom comes from a longer line of faithful Christians.

Because of their commitment to Christ, there quickly came not just a moral confrontation in my childhood life, but a spiritual one too. My parents did not assume that I was a Christian; they preached the gospel to me in word and deed. For several years, I was quite an unruly child, especially toward my mom. I was disobedient and defiant. The truth of the gospel was heard, but not received. But God in his mercy began to work on my heart, to directly confront my sin.

At the early age of 8, I distinctly remember my dad confronting me about my disobedience at home. My dad began to gently, but firmly, diagnose my spiritual problem with me. Disobedience toward my mom was categorized as sin against God—sin that needed forgiveness, a forgiveness only Jesus could grant me. Those sorts of conversations began to take root; and then, one Sunday morning, while in Sunday school, the children’s pastor at our local church shared the good news of Jesus Christ. It was a message I had heard before; but perhaps it was the first time the message penetrated a heart of stone.

What was that message? Well, at that age, it was that Jesus died for my sins. In the simplest of ways, I knew that Jesus had come to fix my heart. I knew I needed to be forgiven. And I knew that Jesus was the only one who could save me. That very Sunday I trusted in Christ to save me. I repented of sins; I became a Christian. A couple years later (at the age of 10), I was baptized to publicly declare that I belonged to Jesus Christ.

What I did not know then was that God not only forgave my sins, but gave me a new heart. He sent his Spirit into my heart to begin a lifelong project to conform me into the image of his Son Jesus Christ. Though imperfect, my love and respect for my parents changed; things generally lined up. Discipleship in my life was essential. Through youth leaders, Bible trivia teams, and personal reading, God continued to grow my heart for him. I genuinely loved Jesus as my Master. I knew him; I occasionally even felt him.

But alongside this newfound spiritual vibrancy were critical mistakes—mistakes that clouded not only my heart for the Lord, but also my witness for him. I became entangled in sinful relationships in high school. Those mistakes I regret to this day. There is this dangerous, but real, potential for believers in Jesus Christ to regain an appetite for the world; and it is always destructive.

But oh how precious grace is; in every Jonah-like day, my God has sought me out. Through painful, but life-altering moments, he confronted me not as a judge, but as a Father to save me from my sin. At 16, I was humiliated, but praise God. He rescued me from a carnal faith. I entered into deeper, richer moments with him. Spiritual maturity began to take root. A love for His Word grew all the more.

It was during this time that some very gentle seeds were planted for pastoral ministry— growing seeds that would not bloom for another 10 years. Today, I am a man in love with Jesus, more aware of weaknesses than ever before, regularly humbled, still growing, and awaiting his return when he will complete what he has started. Praise God for the gospel of unending grace.

My Prayer for Covenant

My prayer for CBC is that we might be a people who:

• declare and display the glory and wonder of Christ in Valdosta and to the ends of the earth (Eph 3.8; Acts 1.8)

• savor Christ and his Word in all of life (Luke 10.38-42)

• love one another as Christ has loved us (John 13.34-35)

• anticipate that great Assembly of the Ages, when we will all shout, 'Salvation belongs to the Lord!’ (Rev 7.10)