"September 24, 2007 - Monday
Why I Am A Christian: How I Got Here From There
Current mood: thankful
Category: Religion and Philosophy
I grew up in a trouble-free home with my mom, dad, and younger sister. Although both of my parents were raised in at least nominally (I assume) Christian homes, they both left the faith and, consequently, my sister and I were raised with no religious training whatsoever.
I don't remember my dad ever talking about God. My mother would routinely mention karma, biorhythms, angels, aliens, and horoscopes. Our culture and my mother provided what little (and I mean little) understanding I had about God.
When I was younger (I'm not sure what age, but old enough to read on my own) I somehow acquired a Children's Bible from my uncle's house. After reading a bit of the beginning, I got to the story of how God saves his people from slavery at the hands of the Egyptians. This is a story many people are familiar with from the movie "The Ten Commandments." I remember going into my mother's room and asking her why God killed all the Egyptians in the Red Sea if he loved everybody. Since she couldn't give me an answer, I lost interest in reading any more of the Bible and filed away some negative feelings about God.
As I got older, I adopted the typical attitude of the culture: you do your thing, I'll do my thing, and as long as I'm not hurting anybody it's all ok. You have your truth, I have my truth – it's all good. I admit I didn't give this philosophy any thought because it was all I really heard, so I just assumed it was true.
In high school I started getting into witchcraft and Wicca. This was appealing to me because I knew there was magic in the world, and I liked the idea of trying to control things. (I didn't have a very good time in high school.) I carried on into college, where I found this religion to be very frustrating. Most of the people I encountered were guarded, selfish, or unhelpful. I wanted to learn, but no one wanted to teach. I also realized, unfortunately, that demons are real creatures, and they have no love for humans.
Somewhere in the college years, both my sister and one of my best friends became Christians. I was pretty unhappy about this, especially in regards to my friend. She did a total 180 on me, and I felt I had lost my friend. Just recently I found an old note I'd written to someone about her where I said, "She is dead to me." How striking that was for me to read now, because that was exactly what happened.
"We were therefore buried with him [Jesus] through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life." [Romans 6:4]
"Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!" [2 Corinthians 5:17]
Not surprisingly, this only made me dislike God even more. My friend, bless her heart, was caught up in the newness of her faith and in her concern for me she was a little overzealous in telling me what I was doing wrong. I can understand it now, but at the time it was only annoying. After more reflection, it is also clear to me that just by her obedience to God and wanting to please him, that illuminated my disobedience and lack of interest in pleasing him.
"This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but men loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil. Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that his deeds will be exposed." [John 3:19-20]
A number of years later I sat at my desk at work doing my art and wanted something to engage my mind while pushing pixels. I discovered internet radio (oh boy!). This seemed like a prime opportunity to listen to some Christian BS so I could go throw it in my sister's face after asking her to bless my corn (running mealtime joke). I ran into a few radio guys who liked to yell, but I had a lot to choose from, so I eventually found a few shows that I could stomach. This is where God finally showed me who he was. I listened to those shows at work all day for a year before I ever set foot in a church. It was a slow process. I heard teaching on the scriptures; I heard amazing stories of totally messed-up people whose lives had been radically changed by God; I heard authors who had written well-researched books; and I heard what love sounded like.
"A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another." (Jesus speaking.) [John 13:34-35]
These Christians understood that command from Jesus and it showed. This was not the self-seeking and adversarial attitude I had seen in my experience with witchcraft (and, frankly, most of the world).
There were two other small things that happened at this time, but I consider them important because they were God speaking to me. They were two specific lines of text that got stuck in my head for months on end. The first was from a phone conversation I had with my sister where I was arguing with her about Jesus being the only way to God. She quoted this scripture from Jesus himself: "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me." [John 14:6] The other was a line from a Christmas song: "God is not dead, nor doth he sleep." ["I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day," Henry Wadsworth Longfellow]
This is how I became a Christian. God did it, 100%. He gave me eyes to see (finally) and a new heart and he gave me the faith to believe. This is why I love Jesus, because he first loved me. Without him I was a God-hater, an idol worshipper, engaging in fornication, homosexuality and adultery (not in my own marriage). Let's call a spade a spade here. This is what I was.
What am I now? Still a sinner, as are we all. I've heard people say the church is full of hypocrites. Yes, some people in the church are hypocrites, but not everyone in the church is a Christian. (Surprised?) It's important to remember what a hypocrite is: a person who pretends to have virtues, moral or religious beliefs, principles, etc., that he or she does not actually possess, esp. a person whose actions belie stated beliefs. A hypocrite is not someone who messes up and then feels bad about it. Christians mess up, but they are saddened by it, ask God for forgiveness, and are forgiven. Christians are repentant.
I've run into some pretty alarming "Christians," both before I was redeemed and afterwards. Once I was at a funeral (before I was a Christian) and since it was in a Catholic church they had everyone take communion (though honestly I don't understand why). I was just following everyone else, and when I got up in front of the priest I guess I didn't do whatever it was I was supposed to do to receive the communion, and the guy actually gave me a nasty look and said, "Why are you here??" OH my goodness. Talk about a completely out-of-place thing to say at a funeral. Someone died. Why did he think I was there. That was just another one of those things that made me not a big fan of God for a very long time. Sadly, people who claim to be Christians but really aren't make some pretty big waves in the world. You rarely hear of the ones who are loving their Lord.
So, this is my story in a nutshell. I understand that you're not me, and we all come from different places. I hold the Bible in the highest regard as God's word, and I try every day by God's grace to live in a way that pleases him. I love learning. I've been a Christian since the year 2000, and God has taught me so much. I have so much more to learn. But I can honestly say I have never had more joy, peace, and understanding than I have now. I am so grateful to my God."
Why I Am A Christian: How I Got Here From There
Current mood: thankful
Category: Religion and Philosophy
I grew up in a trouble-free home with my mom, dad, and younger sister. Although both of my parents were raised in at least nominally (I assume) Christian homes, they both left the faith and, consequently, my sister and I were raised with no religious training whatsoever.
I don't remember my dad ever talking about God. My mother would routinely mention karma, biorhythms, angels, aliens, and horoscopes. Our culture and my mother provided what little (and I mean little) understanding I had about God.
When I was younger (I'm not sure what age, but old enough to read on my own) I somehow acquired a Children's Bible from my uncle's house. After reading a bit of the beginning, I got to the story of how God saves his people from slavery at the hands of the Egyptians. This is a story many people are familiar with from the movie "The Ten Commandments." I remember going into my mother's room and asking her why God killed all the Egyptians in the Red Sea if he loved everybody. Since she couldn't give me an answer, I lost interest in reading any more of the Bible and filed away some negative feelings about God.
As I got older, I adopted the typical attitude of the culture: you do your thing, I'll do my thing, and as long as I'm not hurting anybody it's all ok. You have your truth, I have my truth – it's all good. I admit I didn't give this philosophy any thought because it was all I really heard, so I just assumed it was true.
In high school I started getting into witchcraft and Wicca. This was appealing to me because I knew there was magic in the world, and I liked the idea of trying to control things. (I didn't have a very good time in high school.) I carried on into college, where I found this religion to be very frustrating. Most of the people I encountered were guarded, selfish, or unhelpful. I wanted to learn, but no one wanted to teach. I also realized, unfortunately, that demons are real creatures, and they have no love for humans.
Somewhere in the college years, both my sister and one of my best friends became Christians. I was pretty unhappy about this, especially in regards to my friend. She did a total 180 on me, and I felt I had lost my friend. Just recently I found an old note I'd written to someone about her where I said, "She is dead to me." How striking that was for me to read now, because that was exactly what happened.
"We were therefore buried with him [Jesus] through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life." [Romans 6:4]
"Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!" [2 Corinthians 5:17]
Not surprisingly, this only made me dislike God even more. My friend, bless her heart, was caught up in the newness of her faith and in her concern for me she was a little overzealous in telling me what I was doing wrong. I can understand it now, but at the time it was only annoying. After more reflection, it is also clear to me that just by her obedience to God and wanting to please him, that illuminated my disobedience and lack of interest in pleasing him.
"This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but men loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil. Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that his deeds will be exposed." [John 3:19-20]
A number of years later I sat at my desk at work doing my art and wanted something to engage my mind while pushing pixels. I discovered internet radio (oh boy!). This seemed like a prime opportunity to listen to some Christian BS so I could go throw it in my sister's face after asking her to bless my corn (running mealtime joke). I ran into a few radio guys who liked to yell, but I had a lot to choose from, so I eventually found a few shows that I could stomach. This is where God finally showed me who he was. I listened to those shows at work all day for a year before I ever set foot in a church. It was a slow process. I heard teaching on the scriptures; I heard amazing stories of totally messed-up people whose lives had been radically changed by God; I heard authors who had written well-researched books; and I heard what love sounded like.
"A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another." (Jesus speaking.) [John 13:34-35]
These Christians understood that command from Jesus and it showed. This was not the self-seeking and adversarial attitude I had seen in my experience with witchcraft (and, frankly, most of the world).
There were two other small things that happened at this time, but I consider them important because they were God speaking to me. They were two specific lines of text that got stuck in my head for months on end. The first was from a phone conversation I had with my sister where I was arguing with her about Jesus being the only way to God. She quoted this scripture from Jesus himself: "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me." [John 14:6] The other was a line from a Christmas song: "God is not dead, nor doth he sleep." ["I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day," Henry Wadsworth Longfellow]
This is how I became a Christian. God did it, 100%. He gave me eyes to see (finally) and a new heart and he gave me the faith to believe. This is why I love Jesus, because he first loved me. Without him I was a God-hater, an idol worshipper, engaging in fornication, homosexuality and adultery (not in my own marriage). Let's call a spade a spade here. This is what I was.
What am I now? Still a sinner, as are we all. I've heard people say the church is full of hypocrites. Yes, some people in the church are hypocrites, but not everyone in the church is a Christian. (Surprised?) It's important to remember what a hypocrite is: a person who pretends to have virtues, moral or religious beliefs, principles, etc., that he or she does not actually possess, esp. a person whose actions belie stated beliefs. A hypocrite is not someone who messes up and then feels bad about it. Christians mess up, but they are saddened by it, ask God for forgiveness, and are forgiven. Christians are repentant.
I've run into some pretty alarming "Christians," both before I was redeemed and afterwards. Once I was at a funeral (before I was a Christian) and since it was in a Catholic church they had everyone take communion (though honestly I don't understand why). I was just following everyone else, and when I got up in front of the priest I guess I didn't do whatever it was I was supposed to do to receive the communion, and the guy actually gave me a nasty look and said, "Why are you here??" OH my goodness. Talk about a completely out-of-place thing to say at a funeral. Someone died. Why did he think I was there. That was just another one of those things that made me not a big fan of God for a very long time. Sadly, people who claim to be Christians but really aren't make some pretty big waves in the world. You rarely hear of the ones who are loving their Lord.
So, this is my story in a nutshell. I understand that you're not me, and we all come from different places. I hold the Bible in the highest regard as God's word, and I try every day by God's grace to live in a way that pleases him. I love learning. I've been a Christian since the year 2000, and God has taught me so much. I have so much more to learn. But I can honestly say I have never had more joy, peace, and understanding than I have now. I am so grateful to my God."
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