I sometimes feel a little bit embarrassed to share about how I came to respond to Jesus, because, on the surface of things, God’s story with me seems very mundane. But to apply this thinking to the work of God in us is to make the mistake of failing to recognise and celebrate his power, care and attention to detail in our lives. When we think like this, we are refusing to acknowledge or accept the God-given, grace-filled, deeply precious journey which led us to know Jesus, and which led us into being a ‘new creation’ in Him.
So, here is God’s story with me and I pray that whether it is similar to his story with you, or completely different, you will be inspired to acknowledge and accept the work of God in your life.
I was part of the church from the moment I was born, and I count it as a deep blessing that God put me in a family that followed Jesus and were actively serving in the church community. I don’t remember much about the earliest years of my life going to church – I know I was there and listening, I know I was surrounded by people who loved Jesus and who loved me, and I know that there was a wonderful sense of being part of a family. I didn’t really ask why I was there, I just accepted that this is what life was.
When i was 14, I had a moment of clear understanding that I wanted to respond to what Jesus had done for me. I was with my friends at a youth rally in London – now this is going to give my age away, and I know there will be different views about this particular TV series when viewed with the eyes of 2021 – but during one of the worship times, a clip was played from “Jesus of Nazareth” with the actor, Robert Powell. It was the scene that portrayed Jesus carrying the cross and the scenes of the crucifixion. Although of course I had heard of these events many times from the Bible, I think that it was the first time that I had ever seen a visual representation of those hours of Jesus’ life, and it had a profound effect on me.
I remember the tears coming and flowing down my face, I remember the amazement that Jesus was willing to go through this for me, I remember knowing his love for me as if there was only me and him in the room; but what I remember most of all is that I knew that I wanted to be with him and to know him and follow him. It was an overwhelming moment that I will never forget for the rest of my life. I went back home, I talked to my mum about what I had felt, and she helped me to take the step of saying ‘yes’ to Jesus.
Ever since then I would say that I have been on a continuous journey of ‘coming to faith’ and I believe that I will be walking this journey with Jesus until my last breath. There have been many challenges along the way. Sometimes the light of my faith has burned low, other times it has been like rocket-fire. But throughout all those times, and everything in between, I have had that same assurance that came to me in that marquee when I was 14, and so I praise God for his love and care and for his desire to never stop doing his work in me.
Written by Amanda Martin, Advance Ambassador for Greater Manchester, UK.
