My Personal Testimony
Me and my dad before he passed away in 2010.
For a long time I would get anxious when someone asked me to share my testimony. That’s because I was told more than once that you should be able to pinpoint the exact date you made the decision to follow Jesus...and I couldn’t do that. You see, in my family every Sunday we went to church. Every Wednesday night we went to church. Every potluck dinner, every special event, and every Christmas pageant we went to church. As a child, I was taught Bible stories with flannel boards and sang in the church kids choir. I said the blessing before meals and prayers at bedtime.
Honestly, I cannot remember not knowing Jesus as my Lord and Savior. But I didn’t have a date in my Bible with the words beside it, this is the day I accepted Christ. I can remember raising my hand at church and praying the prayer to accept Jesus as my Lord and Savior. I can remember getting baptized. I can remember times when God made himself extremely real to me. I can remember times when I wasn’t living my life right and I begged for God’s forgiveness. And I’m sad to say, I began sharing some of those times as my testimony because I felt my story wasn’t enough.
Honestly, I cannot remember not knowing Jesus as my Lord and Savior. But I didn’t have a date in my Bible with the words beside it, this is the day I accepted Christ. I can remember raising my hand at church and praying the prayer to accept Jesus as my Lord and Savior. I can remember getting baptized. I can remember times when God made himself extremely real to me. I can remember times when I wasn’t living my life right and I begged for God’s forgiveness. And I’m sad to say, I began sharing some of those times as my testimony because I felt my story wasn’t enough.
Then one day I came across this verse, Psalm 103:17. “But from everlasting to everlasting the LORD’s love is with those who fear him, and his righteousness with their children’s children…” Not so long after that, I read Isaiah 44:3. "...I will pour out My Spirit on your offspring and My blessing on your descendants..." Those two verses helped me realized that I do have a testimony. I am blessed simply because my parents loved Jesus. I am blessed simply because my grandparents loved Jesus.
My testimony is one of God’s love for His children. He revealed Himself to me through my parents and my grandparents love for Him. Did I have to make a decision to follow Jesus myself? Yes. You can't be a child of God just because your family knows Him. It has to be your own decision. You have to decide for yourself that Jesus is going to be the Lord of your life. It is important that you understand that. And I did make that decision. I just don't remember when. Did I make stupid decisions and do what I knew was wrong? Yes. Don't we all? Did I take wrong turns along the path that God would have liked for me to follow? Absolutely. Were there times that I was on my knees crying for forgiveness? Definitely. And because I made the decision to follow Jesus as a child, the Holy Spirit was in my heart, convicting me, directing me, guiding me, urging me, and loving me.
My testimony is one of God’s love for His children. He revealed Himself to me through my parents and my grandparents love for Him. Did I have to make a decision to follow Jesus myself? Yes. You can't be a child of God just because your family knows Him. It has to be your own decision. You have to decide for yourself that Jesus is going to be the Lord of your life. It is important that you understand that. And I did make that decision. I just don't remember when. Did I make stupid decisions and do what I knew was wrong? Yes. Don't we all? Did I take wrong turns along the path that God would have liked for me to follow? Absolutely. Were there times that I was on my knees crying for forgiveness? Definitely. And because I made the decision to follow Jesus as a child, the Holy Spirit was in my heart, convicting me, directing me, guiding me, urging me, and loving me.
Finally, if you are new parents or parents of young children, I hope my testimony encourages you. If you want your children to know about Jesus, tell them about Him. Take them to church. Read Bible stories to them. Pray with them. Will they always walk in the way of the Lord? I can’t promise that. Will they make bad choices? Probably. But they will grow up with a knowledge of who Jesus is… And hopefully, they will make the decision to accept Him as their Lord and Savior and follow the path He has put before them.
