I Had to Learn... the Hard Way
I always knew exactly what I wanted out of life, and nothing was going to stop me from getting it. the only problem was I always had to get it the hard way.
It was rough right from the start. I grew up on a farm, and had to work every day and night without a dime to shoe for it. I failed my drivers ed class and had to take a police test to get my drivers license. While taking it, I got pulled over by the police!
I then wrecked my first car soon after I got it. I ended up having to build my next car out of 3 totaled others, since I didn’t have enough money to buy anything else. I even had to actually study in high school to get good grades, while the other kids just seemed to party on through.
During my first day at college, while others looked for their classes, I looked for a job. Later that night, I was pressured into drinking way more that I cold handle, and endured one of the worst nights of my life. I even had to cram four years into six just to graduate with a B.S. degree!
In the midst of my college career, though, my luck began to change. I became fast friends with a guy named Bob, and he started dragging me to a Bible study in our dorm. I figured if anybody would give me a break God would. Little did I know just how much I was going to get out of this discussion group. You see, on a cool October night, the leader of this group, Steve, came over to my dorm room, and explained to me who God really was and what He had actually done for me. Steve also said that people could actually know for certain they were going to heaven when they died, and that the Bible called this: the Good News.
Now, I was familiar with this lingo. Like many other people, I was raised in a religious home, but the things Steve shared with me I had never heard before. He explained to me that when the Bible said that “Jesus died for your sins” it meant a whole lot more than just a cute phrase to repeat at church. It meant that Christ himself suffered the punishment that I should have endured because of my sin.
Steve showed me where the Bible said that “the wages of sin is death.” 1 That meant there was nothing I could do to get rid of the penalty of my sin but to die. Just like the only just penalty for those on death row is to die. This death penalty, though, went far beyond physical death. It included a spiritual death of any possible relationship I could have had with God while alive.2 That was the main reason for the frustrating, miserable life I’d been living. The Bible also said that this separation would carry on forever in Hell unless I could somehow be pardoned.3
Well, I only had one life to live, so that meant I was going to spend it in hell as the only just payment for my sin.
Thankfully, God saw my need, and out of love for me and you He came to earth as Jesus Christ.4 He lived a completely sinless life and yet still paid the penalty for sin - everybody’s sin.5 He then conquered sin and death by rising again, proving that all His words and actions were true an could be trusted.6 I could hardly believe that I didn’t have to pay for my sin the hard way! I immediately wanted God’s free gift of forgiveness and eternal life in heaven. To get it, I had to humble myself and receive it by prayer.7
I told God I was sorry for the rebellion of my past, and that I wanted to do things His way from that day forward. Most importantly, I told God that I was willingly placing my faith and trust in Jesus Christ alone for eternal life.8 By doing so, I personally received Christ and His payment for my sin.
After I did that, I found that life began to get a whole lot better. Not that all my problems went away, but I now have a very real God working in my life to help me deal with every problem I face.
Even more than that, God has given me a purpose and reason for living. I have the awesome privilege of living for God by sharing His message of love and liberation to others, like you perhaps, so they too can do what I did and not have to learn the hard way!
1. Romans 6:23
2. Colossions 2:13
3. II Thes. 1: 8-9
4. John 3:16
5. II Cor. 5:21
6. Matt. 28:6
7. Romans 10:9
8. John 1:12 & 14:6