faith

My Christian Walk

I have believed in God pretty much all my life. As a kid, I went to Catechism and church. I kept things separated though. I didn't talk about God in school and I didn't talk about school at church.

It was only after many years of reading the Bible and reciting a common Catholic prayer as an adult that I truly began to understand what Christianity really meant.

Here is the prayer that I recited:
"Lamb of God, You take away the sins of the world, have mercy on us.
Lamb of God, You take away the sins of the world, grant us peace."

I always thought of Jesus as a gentle lamb. A kind, meek, humble person who walked on this earth. It was only after years of reading the Old Testament that it dawned on me. A lamb is an animal that was used for sacrifices in Jewish culture. These sacrifices were to forgive sins of the people offering up the lamb. The lamb had to be 1 year old and free of defects.

Sitting in the pew, reciting a prayer that I repeated in church for years, it finally dawned on me. Jesus was not just a gentle being filled with kindness and humility. His mission on this earth was to pay for our sins. He was our perfect sacrifice.

The early Jews had to keep making sacrifices for the sins they would keep on committing. Unlike the animals in Jewish history, the sacrifice of Jesus paid for all of our sins. Since He was perfect (sinless!), His one act of dying on the cross allows God to forgive all who are willing to believe in Jesus. Actually, Jesus is still perfect, not "was". He was resurrected and went up to Heaven in front of many witnesses. Now that Jesus has sacrificed Himself, God can have a relationship with us and give us eternal life in Heaven when we die.

Many people have different experiences and this was mine. After years of going to church and reciting prayers by memory, it amazes me that I did not really know about Jesus until I was an adult.

Can I "convince" you that Jesus is the only way to get to heaven? That there is eternal life? No, I personally can't. But, if you are curious and want to know more, there is much more to learn. Do some research, ask around and ask God to reveal Himself to you. I can't convince you, but He can. I truly believe that God will reveal Himself to you if you seek Him out.