I've basically always, always thought my Jesus story has been super "boring" lol.
I mean, I grew up in a strong Christian family, have gone to church regularly since I was a baby, became saved as a kid, got baptized when I was 7, and have been pretty much following God my whole life.
I was never one of those kids who rebelled (yet...lol just kidding), got caught up in drinking or partying. God's never revealed Himself to me as a glowing light while I was hitting rock bottom with drugs. I guess you could say I have a pretty clean slate?
Haha NOPE.
Yeah, my friends tell me I'm such a "good little Christian kid", but wait. We're all human right? God says that our sins are equal. This means that, I don't know, yelling at my sister out of pure anger is pretty much the same as stealing from a grocery store.
James 2:10 - "For whoever keeps the whole law but fails in one point has become accountable for all of it."
You guys probably already know this, but I didn't really wrap my head around it until a few years ago. I wasn't really arrogant but I was kind of acting like God didn't really have to forgive me for very much, just because, psh, I'd already been so "good" my whole life.
WHAT A LOSER right? AND a twisted way of thinking.
That's when I began to become aware of my own sin; my everyday sin; my bad habits. I began to realize the sleazeball I really was. I wasn't that great at all; I actually kind of sucked and the fact that Jesus DIED for me was a pure MYSTERY!
I guess I was around 13 then. THAT'S when my relationship with God really started to mean something. Our family started going to a new church and I got plugged into the junior high group right away; I began to grow like crazy.
It was no longer my family's thing. It wasn't even my parent's thing.
It was MY relationship with God.
I went to a Christian summer camp around that time that was a pretty big mark in my journey. I didn't know why, but I felt this urge to share my Jesus story around the campfire as other kids shared theirs.
I wanted to tell them how I was growing independent in God apart from my family; how our relationships with God should become personal, not just something our parent's tell us to have.
Sadly, I was too scared, so I didn't say anything. And I still regret it!
After that! Things kept going uphill. My relationship with God kept growing as I entered high school.
I started going to another youth group last summer, so I was going to that regularly, as well as my church youth group. The awesome thing about this new group was that it was huge! I mean, my church is smaller, so I'd never really been in a room with that many people my age who loved God as much as I did.
It really inspired me! I was like "Wow God, could it like really be true that all these kids are this excited for you? That they really have this much passion for you? Cuz if it's true, then I want the same passion they have!!"
Sadly, I was too scared, so I didn't say anything. And I still regret it!
After that! Things kept going uphill. My relationship with God kept growing as I entered high school.
I started going to another youth group last summer, so I was going to that regularly, as well as my church youth group. The awesome thing about this new group was that it was huge! I mean, my church is smaller, so I'd never really been in a room with that many people my age who loved God as much as I did.
It really inspired me! I was like "Wow God, could it like really be true that all these kids are this excited for you? That they really have this much passion for you? Cuz if it's true, then I want the same passion they have!!"
God relationship was taken to a whole new level after that.
Throughout 2010, I began to fall in "like" with Jesus. Mind you! I'd already fallen in love with Him; I've always loved Him. But last year, it was like He was becoming my best friend. Not only my Father, but my friend.
He guided me through a lot of struggles and tears. Learning more about Him became really exciting and intriguing. Learning just how much He loved me was incredible. He was teaching me just how special I was to Him. How beautiful I was to Him.
He was maturing me.
This past year has been a huge year of growth for me, spiritually and mentally.
God's taken me through a lot of ups and downs. I've begun to realize how much He's blessed me by surrounding me with incredible people.
I've become a leader in a junior high group, a worship leader for my youth group, and I've joined the worship team at church.
He's given me a heart for people and He has been teaching me how to be a loving friend and mentor to them.
I give Him all the glory for the work He's done in my heart! He continues to bless me and provide for me everyday, and I don't know where I'd be right now if He hadn't rescued me from my selfishness. My life would probably be really boring.
He's teaching me how to live a life of love, peace, and trust.
I know that no matter what, He'll always be there.
And that's a promise!
I've become a leader in a junior high group, a worship leader for my youth group, and I've joined the worship team at church.
He's given me a heart for people and He has been teaching me how to be a loving friend and mentor to them.
I give Him all the glory for the work He's done in my heart! He continues to bless me and provide for me everyday, and I don't know where I'd be right now if He hadn't rescued me from my selfishness. My life would probably be really boring.
He's teaching me how to live a life of love, peace, and trust.
I know that no matter what, He'll always be there.
And that's a promise!
No comments:
Post a Comment