13 years ago today,
I made the best decision of my life.
Up until that point,
I thought I was a pretty good person.
Born into a nice family.
Went to church every Sunday.
Behaved better than most of my friends.
From the outside, everything looked good.
But nothing could be further from the truth.
Inside, it was becoming abundantly clear what kind of person I was.
As a teenager who had recently obtained an internet-connected device,
I quickly discovered that I liked -
and craved -
things I knew were vile and wrong.
It shattered my worldview.
I wasn’t a good person.
Much the opposite.
I was guilty.
And there was nothing I could do to remedy that.
The act of going to church couldn’t fix me.
None of my good deeds could absolve what I'd done.
Being part of a good family meant nothing.
I was only getting worse and worse.
Although I wished it wasn’t true,
I knew I’d meet God one day.
And by His standard,
I was condemned.
That brings us to March 20, 2011.
It’s a Sunday night.
As usual, my parents took me to a Gospel meeting.
Gospel meetings usually present 3 key things:
Premise 1:
The guilt and ruin of humanity (both collective and individual)
Premise 2:
God proves His love for us by Jesus dying for our crimes
(In doing so, He pays for the penalty we deserve)
The Response:
Each person is called to believe:
- What God says about them (Premise 1)
- What God has done for them (Premise 2)
When that happens, God fully (and gladly) forgives us.
That night,
I understood for the first time that I was ruined.
There was nothing I could do to fix that.
But somehow, Jesus still loved me.
And had done everything I needed to be forgiven.
That night, I trusted Jesus as my Saviour.
I haven’t been the same since.
And I’d never go back.
Here's what I've got:
- A heart that is changed
- The weight of guilt that's lifted
- God's promise to never to leave me
- Knowing that when I die, I’ll go to be with God
- Genuine peace and joy I couldn’t find anywhere else
Best decision ever.
So.
Am I now a perfect person?
Not by a long shot (ask my wife).
Do I still make mistakes?
All the time.
But I’ve seen how He’s worked in my life to make me better.
To love others as I have been loved.
To care for others as I have been cared for.
To give grace as I have been provided grace.
You’ve got to experience this for yourself.
I know it would be the best decision you’d ever make.
Glad to take any questions through DMs.
Consulting Director
1yThanks for sharing, I do believe as technology devolp, the patient access to this therapy will be closer, hopefully that will happen soon.