Do You Take Jesus For Granted?

When I say that Jesus saves, I mean it. I was lost without my heavenly father for decades and I refuse to let him go again.

Shortly after my baptism last year, my mother told me that as a youngster, I used to walk around in a little suit, holding a Bible and reciting scripture to bring people to Jesus.

I wondered, what caused me to be so lost for three decades and to believe God had left me?

Sometimes people who get saved later in life aren't just coming to Christ for the first time but instead a reunification with their heavenly father. It's not just the absence of God in our lives, but the belief that God has abandoned us.

In the same way that my father had abandoned me, I thought God was doing the same. At a young age, I knew who Jesus was, yet the uncertainty and instability of life had lost my faith.

The comfort of God as a child was a distant memory, and the negative emotions stemming from abandonment, rejection, and low self-worth overshadowed my view of Him.

It took me three decades to understand that God was there beside me the entire time. When I had a clear vision of my life, I finally saw those unexplainable moments of grace or people who miraculously helped me from going down a terrible path.

This is why my homecoming means a lot to me and I think many lifelong Christians don't understand what it feels like to wonder if God loves you or to move aimlessly through this world without a purpose.

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Years of spiritual malnutrition make being fed God's love even more plentiful for my soul. I know what it's like not knowing where you're going to sleep, which is why I am incredibly grateful every day I come home to a comfortable place.

Going without a relationship with Jesus for so long has made me highly appreciative to reunify with Him. It's the relationship of all relationships. I live my life like Jesus is real & I worry that many who profess to know Him are more in love with Christian rituals than Jesus.

They say that Jesus saves, but what comes from their heart doesn't match their heart. They say we are all sinners, yet think they're more righteous than the person standing next to them. They take for granted the knowledge they've obtained, but their hearts are hardened.

They memorize Bible quotes and go to church every Sunday, but don't have a relationship with Jesus. I've realized that being lost is as equally detrimental as pretending you are found.

If you were to tell me ten years ago that I would cry in an instant thinking about Jesus' grace, I wouldn't have believed you. I've faced many obstacles, as have many, and these hurdles preclude me from taking anything I have in my life for granted.

I know what it's like to not accept Jesus as my savior and possess a hardened heart. I know the downward spiral of hating mankind because I hated myself for years. Lastly, I know what it's like to be pulled from the edge of death with Jesus' embrace.

Thoughts of ending my life flowed through my mind at my lowest points and something miraculous would happen, forcing me to reconsider the unconscionable. When I needed Him the most, he was there for me.

So, when I say that Jesus saves, I mean it. I was lost without my heavenly father for decades and I refuse to let him go again. I am His child and my heart is soft like one again because of Him.

He was patient and never gave up on me; He won't give up on you either.