Some time later I learned that it was necessary for me to be born again - this time of the spirit. I had been dead in my sins. That's the only condition God will take us in....when we acknowledge that we are sinners, DEAD in our sins...and without His intervention we would spend eternity in HELL...separated from God forever. This sounds harsh but so was being nailed on a cross.
You might ask how, if I was a devout, practicing Catholic, how I was able to shed my Catholism with such apparent ease and it was with ease. Remember when I was about 6 yrs old and I heard about God's love for the first time...I took that right, straight into my heart.....the outward trappings of the religion never touched my HEART. As a young adult when I understood that God would give me eternal life, that He would never leave me nor forsake me.... once again that spoke directly to my heart.
It is not that I am an emotional person. On the contrary, I am quite conservative in my expressions of emotions but I know that it's not what you know that counts but what you are and as a child of God, saved by grace, I am going to spend eternity in heaven and that knowledge is worth a lot!!!!
Why is it that some people cling to rituals, or tradition or tangible things like beads, etc? I think that it is a matter of inner insecurity. I can say of myself that I always wanted to face my fears, to face reality rather than run away from it - to contemplate the ultimate fear - death. Knowing that I am going to heaven has made the difference. And as far as all the other fears go...I give them to Him, one by one, and He gives me assurance that even when the storm rages, He is near.
I am a reader; I've read tons of books...very few I re-read...some like Shakespeare, Dickens, Austen, Allistair McLean but it's The Bible that I read daily. In reading the bible I find comfort, encouragement, enlightenment, hope, admonition, courage, understanding. There is no other written word in any of the libraries on earth that contain the words of LIFE.
Looking back, I can honestly say, that living with the knowledge that God was never far from me even in the midst of a multitude of troubles has made the difference between hopelessness and hope. I have a firm hope, an assurance that I will live forever in Paradise...I will walk side by side with my Savior.
The amazing thing is that God knows us better than we know ourselves and He wants us "just as we are". His hand is stretched out to YOU.
Your life will never be the same. You will have a friend that "sticketh closer than a brother"...and He will never leave you nor forsake you.
Living life with Jesus as your savior is a
walk....a race.....an adventure!
Afterword
The above story is about me - but what I hope is that in reading my story you can see - God, the Heavenly Father and His Son, Jesus who was nailed to the cross for our sins and the Holy Spirit, who will not leave us alone until He has completed the task laid out for Him and that is - forming Jesus in us.
Isn't it amazing that God sent His Son to die for us while we were yet sinners! We don't have to take a self-improvement course or in any way improve ourselves before coming to Him. What is necessary is to humble ourselves, admit we need to be forgiven, and ask Him for forgiveness. That's all there is to it.
"But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ..."(Ephesians2:4)
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