My Journey

When I was very young I can remember wondering about God – who He was, if He was real, and why I existed. My parents religiously took me to church every Sunday. Amidst all the pomp and rote prayers, I do remember listening to the preacher and thinking, “If what he is saying is really true, it ought to transform our lives!” But then I’d look at those around me, especially those in church, and see very boring, unchanged lives that dutifully attended church on Sundays but seemed to have little regard for living for Jesus throughout the rest of the week.

Throughout my elementary, middle, and high school years I continued to ask many questions and search for the Truth. I knew that I was not a Christian just because my parents said they were or because I lived in a “Christian nation.” I wondered why I saw so many hypocrites – those who went to church each week but continued to live to please themselves. I wondered why there were so many different religions in the world. I wondered why a good God would allow anyone to go to Hell. And I wondered if we were all just “climbing up the same mountain from different sides.”

It wasn’t until I went to college that I finally found the answers I had been looking for all my life. I took a religion class that helped me understand that the Bible is completely true. Every word in it is from God and it is totally unchanged. There is more evidence for the accuracy and authenticity of the Bible than any other book on earth. In fact, the Bible we read today is exactly like it was when it was originally written.

I began to read the Bible differently because now I knew I could trust every word that it said. My college roommate invited me to attend church with her and it was much different than the church I had attended growing up. It was the first time I really began to understand, as God opened my eyes to the Truth of Scripture. I gave my heart and life to Jesus and understood that this meant all of me. Whatever He wanted of me, I put my marker in the ground and decided I wanted to live for Jesus.

I found out that God does love us – all of us – so much that he was willing to provide a way for us to be saved. God is perfect and holy and because God is in heaven, heaven is perfect and holy. But, since I am human and make mistakes, I can’t go to heaven like I am and heaven still be a holy place. Praise God HE provided a way for salvation! Jesus said, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me” (John 14:6). I am sure that when I die I will go to heaven because when I stand before God one day I will not have to try to enter based on my good deeds. Instead, I will enter based on what Jesus did. Jesus lived a perfect, sinless life – he is the only one to ever do this! He was crucified as a perfect sacrifice and he bore the sins of the world. Isaiah 53:5 says, “But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed.” Jesus conquered death and rose from the grave. So when I stand before God one day, I will enter heaven based on Jesus’ perfect sacrifice. The Bible says, “That if you confess with your mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord,’ and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved” (Romans 10:9).

I finally understood the answers to my questions:
~There truly is only one way to get to heaven; we are not all just “climbing up the same mountain from different sides.”
~God loves us so much he provided a way for everyone to be saved, only many people refuse God’s free gift of salvation. Salvation is a choice – open to all of us – but we must accept it.
~And many people seem to be hypocrites because they don’t really know Jesus; they don’t have a relationship with Him.

God changed my life and I’ve never been the same. I now live for God alone. No matter what the storms of life may bring, I can walk through them with inner peace because I am resting in Jesus. I also know for sure where I will go when I die and, therefore, there is nothing that man can do to take away my joy!