When I was a kid, my family and I belonged to St. John’s Lutheran Church in Marion. We were all baptized, confirmed and three of us kids were married there.
We would sit in pretty much the same pew and everyone else had their “assigned” seats, too. The congregation was made up of a lot of farm families just like ours, and the moms, dads and their kids looking like a row of stair steps, from little ones up to the bigger ones, all sat together. Families would fill up the pew back then.
One Sunday when I was a young adult, I had attended service and something the pastor said stuck in my head and then traveled down to my heart. Looking back, it was an experience the Lord provided to wake me up, taking the scales from my eyes and unplugging my ears so I could hear Him better.
That night I knelt by the small window in my bedroom and, looking up at twinkling stars and a full, bright moon in the black sky, acknowledged and confessed my sins and asked Jesus to come into my heart, change and cleanse me. I didn’t know a thing more than that. It was a simple prayer, simply said with no profound or eloquent wording. The Holy Spirit took my prayer up to the Father and laid it at His throne of mercy. I felt light, full of peace and almost giddy and had absolutely no idea what to do next. All I knew was that I wanted to serve Him.
Years went on. I didn’t passionately pursue God so my faith waned, took dips and turns but I always knew, just knew, the Lord was with me. My little sister grew zealous in her faith and so taught the rest of us that if we really truly started to walk with Jesus, it would transform our lives. I always think of it like this: When Dorothy, in the “Wizard of Oz,” landed with a thud in Oz and opened her farmhouse door, full, vibrant color exploded onto our TV screen and just blew me away. We walk in a black and white world until we walk with Jesus.
I married, the kids came, I converted to Catholicism because my husband was Catholic and I wanted all of us to go to church together. I started to delve more deeply into the things of God, reading His Word with purpose. I learned that our churches were not that much different. We worship the same God, we believe that Jesus is God’s Son, and the Father, Son and Holy Spirit make up the Holy Trinity. As Christians, we all believe that Jesus took the full brunt of our sinful selves upon Himself. Dying and rising again three days later, He sacrificed Himself for our sake so that if we confess Him Lord of our lives, when we die a physical death, we will be reunited with Him in a glorified body like His.
Another thing I’ve learned through the years is that sitting in church doesn’t make one a Christian. A personal relationship with Jesus makes one a Christian. Quoting a bunch of scriptures doesn’t prove a thing. When Satan was tempting Jesus in the dessert, he quoted Psalm 91:11-12. That freaked me out. Even the devil can spin off a few words out of the Bible.
Our mission on earth and why we’re here, is to make a difference for the Kingdom, to share the Good News with as many people as we can, right where we’re at; be it stay-at-home moms, farmers, teachers, factory workers, car salesmen, whomever. There’s hope! No matter what we’ve done, where we’ve gone, who we’ve been with, what our lifestyle is, if we repent, ask for forgiveness and accept the free gift of salvation through grace, God will forgive us. Our Father wants nothing but the very best for His children. Jesus died, rose and went on to prepare a place for us and it’s going to be fabulous. He spoke of mansions! I believe it because Jesus said it’s so.
A great read that explains the things of God in an easy-to-understand way is a book called “Saved by Angels” by Bruce Van Natta. I highly recommend it.
The bottom line this Easter is this: God loves us, each and every one, with an unconditional, magnificent all-encompassing love. How much does He love us? He loves us so much that He gave us His one and only Son so that we may have everlasting life. If we believe it, share it.
Happy Easter, everyone!
(“For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life.” John 3:16)
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