"By the grace of God, I am what I am"

A few blog entries back, I was talking about the number of tears that we cry. I thought about that notion again yesterday, as I was in tears at church. I was actually crying tears of joy as I was remembering how God, by His wonderful grace, transformed me. I was recollecting my story of how I became a Christian.

I was a six year old boy who went to a Billy Graham crusade with his parents and brother. God used the words of Mr. Graham; I was feeling the conviction from the Holy Spirit. I knew that I was a sinner who was in need of a Savior. I knew I needed to respond and put my faith and trust in Jesus Christ. So I stated to my parents that I needed to go forward during the altar call. I yielded my life to God that day.

Here I am all these years later. I’m far from perfect. I falter and stumble. I struggle with the sin that so easily besets me (old King James Version rendering of Hebrews 12:1), but there’s no doubt in my mind that God changed me that day. He changed my entire identity. The Apostle Paul wrote, “By the grace of God I am what I am” (1 Corinthians 15:10). I echo that for myself.

I've previously referenced a pastor by the name of Rick Ferguson.  Rick went to Heaven back in 2002, but he left a strong Christian legacy behind.  He was saved at a young age as I was.  When you become a Christian at a young age, you don’t have a dramatic conversion story to tell.

For example, earlier I mentioned the Apostle Paul. This was a man who persecuted the church, dragged Christians into prison, and murdered them. He wanted to stamp out and destroy Christianity. But God ambushed him, and completely revolutionized his life; his allegiance shifted from wanting to destroy Christianity to being an avid voice for Christianity. That’s a dramatic conversion!

This idea of not having lived much of a life before coming to Christ concerned Rick for a time, but then he shared that God showed him that when you come to Jesus at a young age, God doesn’t just save you from who you were; He saves you from what you would have become.  On more than one occasion Rick mentioned this notion in his sermons and it really resonated with me because it’s true. I shudder to think about the life that I might be living today, if I didn’t become a Christian. I prefer to thank God for His grace, love, and kindness in my life. Praise God for the gift of salvation!

Kevin