Making Christ Lord of My Life
David
Growing up as a part of Grace Valley means that from my youth I was brought up in the teachings of the Scriptures, but this doesn't necessarily mean that these truths in any impacted the way I lived my life. I accepted Christ as my Savior in the fifth grade, but I had no practical concept of what the lordship of Christ was all about. After my conversion and subsequent baptism I went about living the Christian life. Unfortunately, as soon as the initial excitement of my new birth wore off I regressed into a lifestyle that could be described as one of practical atheism.
From this time on, I continued to learn more and more about God and his word, but I had no personal relationship with Him. I found obedience to his commands and coming under his authority burdensome because I was living for my own pleasure rather than for the glory of God. In fact, even though I would have called myself a born-again Christian, my entire life was consumed by pleasure-seeking.
My pursuit of pleasure dragged me into various sins and led me into friendships which only pulled me deeper into sin. Even though I did find pleasure in many various ways, the pleasure was short-lived and I became increasingly unhappy. I was always looking forward to the next big thrill or change in my life, thinking that it would finally be the thing to bring me happiness and fulfillment. The problem with this philosophy is that nothing in this world will ever bring true happiness and fulfillment-this only comes from right relationship with God through Jesus Christ.
It was in this unhappy state and with this pleasure-seeking worldview that I showed up to a short high school retreat the summer between my junior and senior years in high school. The teaching at that retreat was so clearly for me; I knew I could never be happy the way I was living. I had to repent and turn to Christ; I had to accept Jesus as both Savior and Lord of my life.
As soon as I gave my life over to Jesus Christ I immediately sensed a peace in my life, and for the first time I was eager to learn and do the will of God. Worship, Bible reading and prayer were no longer burdensome to me, because they were ways of communing with my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. It is true that I lost a lot of my worldly friends as a result of my commitment to Christ, but the relationships that I built with people in this church and college group have been incredibly refreshing because they aren't selfish relationships based on having fun, but they're full of the love of Christ.
Instead of the unhappiness that I experienced for so many years, I now live in the joy of the Lord, and know that true happiness is only found in knowing and doing the will of God. I look forward to being able to serve God and enjoy Him in my college years and beyond.