For my Made to Crave online Bible study, I am asked to write about one out of three questions, and the question I’m choosing to answer out of the three available is how I came to Christ. For me, it was a long gradual process of on and offs when it came to my faith, because one foot was in, and one foot was out. Guess I was never truly committed, because I wasn’t completely satisfied with the Gospel until I began to really grasp the meaning and the radical words and actions of Jesus Christ. I could write a book about every detail of my journey, but I’m going to start with how I most recently recommitted my life after I had one foot into the Bible, while the other was searching for answers elsewhere.
My mother has been doing this crazy in-depth study of the book of Revelation, and would talk about it on and on until it became so irritating to me, I had to see what all the fuss was about, and read the book for myself. I have always been that type of learner where I would never take advice, but would only learn if I made a mistake, and had to deal with the consequences myself. I must be my mother’s daughter in the sense that I am a master at asking questions, and challenging any material that is in front of me.
Anyways, the first part of Revelation, we catch a glimpse of the new earth, and then we get into the pain, turmoil and destruction of the old earth passing away. After this old earth passes away, and those with the seal of God pass on to the new earth and avoid the second death, which is the death of a soul that chooses to remain separate from God, we see a more detailed glimpse of the new earth in all it’s glory.
Along the way, I learn a truth that disproved one of my misconceptions of Christianity. This misconception was that the Bible said that anyone who refuses to accept Christ is immediately going to hell after they die. This is inaccurate for reasons I’m going to explain. People who don’t accept Christ as their savior are going to face judgement for their works here on the first earth, and be held accountable. His standards, however, are high, as He is holy.
Those living in Christ simply acknowledge that they are fallen and need a Savior, like we all do, because we all need grace. Their sin is taken on by the blood of the Lamb, and on the cross, the price for their sin is paid through His death. The chains of the sin are broken by the resurrection, and not only are we declared blameless, and therefore worthy of the kingdom of heaven, we are declared heirs with Christ because He took our place on the cross.
Another way of explaining this is the double transfer that I learned during a world religions class in college. When we surrender our lives to Jesus, we leave our sins at the cross, and He is mighty enough to bear them, because He is fully God and fully human. Not only that, but He is pure and blameless. When our sins transfer to Christ, His purity and blamelessness transfers to us. We then become judged by our faith when God looks upon us, and sees the purity and blamelessness of His son. Our sins, past, present and future are no longer remembered, and we are able to walk a changed life.
When I realized these truths, God wouldn’t leave me alone. He used dreams, other people, music, etc to tell me to come to Him. He is so patient, He waited until I surrendered my pride, everything to Him. When I did, and emptied myself at the cross, this emptiness became filled with the Holy Spirit.
The Holy Spirit is a peculiar essence, as when it entered into the depths of my emptiness, I began doing, thinking and saying things that I wouldn’t have otherwise. It began working to transform my heart, and now, I’m a changed woman. Whenever I go to sleep, I think about God. Whenever I rise, I think about God. The things we think turn into words and actions, so this Holy Spirit welling up in my heart continues to make itself apparent.
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