I never thought of my journey coming to Christ as particularly exciting or dramatic, but upon taking the time to reflect, I am struck by how God has been working bit by bit all throughout my life. I did not grow up going to church, and some of my family members adamantly opposed the faith. Nevertheless, God had his way of reaching me, humbling me, and gradually transforming my heart through various circumstances and people around me.
I had a God-fearing mom; although she passed away when I was still a child, scattered memories of her teaching me the gospel of Jesus Christ – even in the depths of her debilitating illness – stayed with me. While I was too young to comprehend it at the time, I believe it was back then that the smallest seed of faith was planted in my heart. For much of my adolescent years, however, that seed remained dormant. I went on to attend a Christian secondary school, where my older brother turned to Christ, but I remained largely nonchalant. It was through years of subtle encouragement that my heart slowly softened, and after several episodes of personal crises that fueled my desire to seek comfort and refuge in a higher power, I finally made the decision to start going to church the summer after graduating from secondary school.
it's by God's grace that I have come to experience the hope, peace, and joy of Christ
I did not fully accept Christ into my life immediately. For the first few years, I was a tepid, uncommitted church-goer. I would often be absent from church for weeks at a time if I felt like I didn’t “need” God at the moment, or when school or other priorities in life demanded more of my attention. Yet, eventually, I was fortunate enough to have found a community of believers at St. Andrew’s who genuinely cared about my spiritual well-being; they would draw me back to church whenever I strayed, read the Bible with me one-on-one, and encourage me to join a growth group to nurture my faith on a more regular basis. I began forming habits that fortified my faith, and as it turns out, habits can be a powerful force.
Slowly but surely, I came to truly recognize the need for my salvation. The gravity of my sins became clear to me, and even more so, the greatness of God’s love through the work of Jesus Christ on the cross and his resurrection from death. As it is written in John 3:16, “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.”
My salvation is wholly unmerited, and yet God does not give up on his people. I am in awe of God’s abounding love, grace, and mercy; his character compels me towards him, and his promises give me hope.
God works in wondrous ways; although my journey to becoming a Christian has been a gradual one, it’s by God’s grace that I have come to experience the hope, peace, and joy of Christ, on which I can anchor my life. Despite inevitable moments of uncertainties and struggles in every Christian’s life, I seek to grow in love of and obedience to Christ. With my baptism, I will make a public declaration of my faith as well as a commitment to follow God, repent, and live my life according to his will.
