On Becoming a Christian - Part 1

(From 7/8/06 on my old blog)

Over the years that I have been a Christian, I have heard numerous stories from Christians describing how they came to know the Lord Jesus Christ as Savior. I have occasionally been called upon to do the same – not usually in a large setting but in a small gathering of fellow Christians who want to get to know each other. On some occasions, I have had the opportunity to tell non-Christians my story as well. Lately, I have been thinking of capturing the story in writing and that’s one of the reasons I started this blog.

Some of these stories (usually called testimonies) that I have heard in a church setting have a fantastic quality to them. For instance, not only was the person saved but he was also delivered from some terrible addiction or a life of crime. Jesus turned their lives around. But what about a guy who simply leads a good life? Why would such a person need some sort of grand conversion to Christianity especially if he believes that he is a Christian already?

While growing up, I attended a church with my parents in Lombard, Illinois that was part of the United Church of Christ and like others who attend such a church, I was baptized as an infant. Attending Sunday School every week, I learned of all the well known stories from the Bible: Noah and the Ark, the Creation Story, Moses and the Exodus, the Birth and Death of Jesus, Jesus’ Parables and Miracles, etc. While I didn’t always want to go to church, my parents made me go anyway. So I did learn all those stories.

When I reached the 8th grade, I went through confirmation - a relatively intense course of examining beliefs and the Christian vocation. I thought of it as confirming my baptism – some sort of statement that indicated that I was a Christian. I recall that there were about 25 of us going through this class that culminated in a special service where we all became confirmed in a special church service.

But, I really only did what I did because it was expected of me by my parents. I didn’t think I had a choice. I suppose I could have refused to go but since I was such a good obedient son, I just did what I was told.

On the other hand, I suppose that I really did have a choice. And I did make a choice. I chose to go through the motions without it meaning much to me personally. So, at the end of this phase of my life, about the end of high school, I thought being a good person was good enough to go to heaven when I died and, though not perfect by any means, I was and still am a basically good person.

A foundation was laid for me: some knowledge of the Bible, I was a good person, I was fairly intelligent and independent. I credit my parents for all of this but am thankful to God that he put me in a position to learn these things from them and the other teaching figures that influenced me.