Well, where do I begin? I think Ephesians 2 would be a good place to start. This is the gospel that has changed, guided, and shaped my life…
And you were dead in the trespasses and sins 2 in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience—3 among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind. 4 But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, 5 even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved—6 and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, 7 so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. 8 For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, 9 not a result of works, so that no one may boast. 10 For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.
–Ephesians 2:1-10
I was dead. (Notice the period after the word dead.) I was not just in trouble and He helped me. I was not just drowning and he extended a hand to me to grab on to. I was dead. The Bible says this. I had no ounce of good in me… not even enough to just stretch my weak hand out to His almighty hand. My hand was dead along with the rest of my body. BUT… But God… Through Him… Through the sacrifice of Jesus and His death and resurrection, I was made alive in Him. He breathed life into me and made me new through the power of His Holy Spirit. Thank you Jesus!
I was blessed to grow up in a family with parents who feared and revered the name of Jesus. While I can’t remember the exact moment of my salvation, I do remember two instances in which my father lead me to Christ. I remember being sad that I was unable to participate in communion at church, so I asked my dad about it, and he shared the gospel with me. I also vaguely remember sitting in my room with my dad, staring at my wall trying to ponder these thoughts he was imparting to me about what Jesus had done for us. I obviously didn’t know much, but it was clear to me that my heart was being drawn in by the Lord’s goodness. I’m so thankful to have had parents that modeled and lived the truth of the Gospel out in their lives.
Since then, it’s been a crazy long process of the Lord teaching me over and over how dependent I need to be on Him. I have also been blessed to have incredible men of God disciple me and teach me to understand what the scripture says and how it teaches me to live. It’s crazy to look back and think of the men along the way who have taken their time to invest in my and teach me about the Lord! Thank you Lord!
So now I continue in the Holy Spirit’s work of sanctification in my life. I’m constantly learning how to die to myself daily and take up my cross and follow Jesus. I want to be conformed more and more into His image, and I have assurance that He is finishing that work in me.
