I would like to share with you how I became a Christian. My father was in the army, so we lived abroad. When I was 11 we came back to England. My mother is a Catholic and she brought us three children up in the Catholic faith.
I was quite an earnest child and thought much on religious things. At the age of 18, I moved into a flat with two friends. I had a job I enjoyed and a good social life. This went on for a year or so and then my life began to feel empty.
I could not understand this, as I was so busy and went to the Catholic church with my Nan regularly. I felt quite ‘holy’, as other members of my immediate family did not go to church.
One Sunday afternoon I unexpectedly received a telephone call from my aunt. She had started going to a Baptist church and wondered if I would like to come along. My first thought was to say ‘no’, as I had done my ‘religious bit’ already that day. However, I agreed in the end.
Joy, not duty
As soon as I entered the Baptist church, I could tell the difference between it and where I usually went. The first thing that struck me was that people seemed pleased to be there! Church-going had always been just a duty to me.
I thank God for the invitation that evening, as it was the first time I heard the gospel. It was a great shock to realise that, according to the Bible, I was not a Christian, as I did not have Jesus Christ as my Lord and Saviour. I was trusting in my own ‘holiness’ to gain God’s approval.
A seed was sown in my heart and I had the desire to go along again and again. During that time I came to realise that the Lord Jesus died for my sins on the cross and everything I did to appease God was not acceptable to him, as I was a sinner. I accepted the Lord Jesus as my Saviour in 1982.
It has been a blessing to know the Lord with me ever since, in dark times of personal tragedy and in joyous times too. As Christians, we are assured that God is close beside us, guarding and guiding all the way, until we are with him in heaven for ever.
