Twenty Eight

About three years ago, I accepted Jesus Christ as my personal Lord and Savior. It was only a simple act—no tear-jerking drama, no boldly-stated altar calls. I was only a mere “Yes” to the question, “Do you accept Jesus Christ to be your personal Lord and Savior?” I was merely saying what I believed in, which I believed, at that time, was the same.

But from that time on until now, Jesus Christ has been so gracious in bringing me people and circumstances that altogether drew and continues to draw me closer to Him. In the course of time, I was able to attend Bible study sessions, prayer meetings, and worship services. In no time, He allowed me to meet people who greatly shaped me according to His perfect will and purpose. By His prodding, I opened my Roman Catholic Bible, the one with Deuterocanonicals, and in the verse of John 14:6, I discovered that Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life, and that no one comes to the Father except through Him. (It was only through His amazing work in me that I can say that I found Jesus and became a born-again Christian in a Roman Catholic Bible!) And in the turn of events, I was able to pray the sinner’s prayer.

Such was His faithfulness in my life that when I look back, I can only open my mouth in praise and wonder at how great my Savior is, that He even designed circumstances and events even way before I accepted Him!

Three years have passed and I am still in awe and much more in love with Jesus. Three years ago, I only called Him as my Lord and Savior. But now, He is my strength, my deliverer, my refuge, and my defender. He is the rock where I can be safe, the stronghold of my salvation. He is my King, my First and Perfect Love. He is my Wonderful Counselor, Sovereign Lord, Awesome Healer, and best friend. He is my all in all!

Such are His amazing gifts to a sinner like me. If it were based on my past, or the things that I do, I know that I am not worth any of these. Even the supposedly good deeds I did cannot reach the perfect standard of my King. But you see, that is why it is called amazing grace because it is given even if undeserved.

And because He loves me so much and His grace is evident every morning, I decided to live my life holy and set-apart for Him in thanksgiving to what He did and is continuing to do for me. I aimed to do good deeds, not to save myself because He already finished that for me, but to thank Him for His grace. In response to His love, I made the conscious decision to die to myself and totally surrender my life to Him.

But it does not mean that I have become perfect. No, I am far from being one. In fact, for the three years that I have become a Christian, I can only say that God is not finished with me yet. I am a work in progress under Christ’s grace.

Yes, I am now 28 years and 20 days old, to be exact. And the best thing that I learned for the past years that I have been in Christ’s grace is the fact that this act of dying to myself and totally surrendering all my rights to Him is not a one-time-only occurrence; instead, it should be done on a daily, minute-by-minute basis.