Being a good person, going to church regularly and being baptized as a child. I thought that’s all I had to do to go to heaven – that as long as the good outweighed the bad, I was fine.
It wasn’t until middle school, when I attended a Youth for Christ (YFC) rally, that I first heard verses like Romans 3:23, “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” Ephesians 2:8-9 “For you are saved by grace through faith, and this is not from yourselves; it is God’s gift – not from works, so that no one can boast. And Romans 6:23, “For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
It took a few weeks before I really realized the true meaning of these verses. I was a sinner (and still am.) Even though I tried to be a good person, my sin separated me from God and there was nothing I could do to close that gap.
But God… “But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ – by grace you have been saved.” – Ephesians 2:4-5
I asked the Lord into my heart as a teenager and was baptized a second time. I have tried to keep Him in the center of my life ever since. Have I walked it perfectly? Definitely not! In fact, the more I mature as a Christian, the more I realize what a wretched sinner I am, and how truly amazing God’s grace really is.
If you’ve never experienced the peace of Christ, I encourage you to use this website and click the “Learn More About Jesus” button to learn how you, too, can make Jesus the Lord of your life.