“Accepting Christ is the best decision one can make! Better than the person you’ll choose to marry!”

I remember cringing as the preacher shouted that from the pulpit 8 years ago. At the time, as someone who didn’t believe in God, I simply couldn’t understand. Why would anyone love God more than their marriage partner? Surely my husband would be the one who’s always there for me, not some intangible deity.

I was agnostic back then, but I didn’t subscribe to any religion. When I thought of God, intimacy wasn’t something that came to mind. And “God” wasn’t the Christian God. He was simply a deity to pray to in a temple once a year, or when something bad happened in my life and I needed supernatural intervention.

So I never understood what my friends were saying when they told me “God loves you”. The whole idea was foreign to me: Why would a God – so detached for the most part of my life – love me?

In fact, I remember being far more comfortable praying to my deceased grandfather than God! I was close to Grandpa and felt far more comfortable turning to him for help, rather than a Someone I barely knew.

A NEW HEART OF FLESH

I accepted Christ in 2010. Over time I learnt that Jesus was different from all the other gods I’d ever known.

For the first time in my life, I heard of God who’s jealous for His people (Exodus 34:14). I heard that a King abandoned His Heavenly throne for a people doomed to death and willingly died for me!

Just words … But it was something more. Hearing the gospel broke something within me that day; it bridged a “high and mighty” God to me.

I came to know Jesus as someone who longs to draw us close to Him. I wish I could explain it better, but I know He wants to have a relationship with you. For instance, even the littlest things in your life? He’s also concerned about that and wants to be part of it.

His love pursues us relentlessly.

GOD IS LOVE

But understanding God’s love is a process. We must daily renew our minds to know God, and we need to soak ourselves in the Word to be transformed.

I didn’t understand who Jesus is or know things like what His death meant right from the get-go, but I’ve been experiencing the depth of His love on a daily basis.

And the longer I walk on this faith journey, the more awed I am by God’s love. The Bible says that God is so holy that if we meet Him face to face, we would surely die (Exodus 33:20) because of our sin! In response to that, Jesus died for us and rose again so that we can now approach God’s throne and enter into His presence (Ephesians 3:11-12).

I am always reduced to weeping when I consider how God loves me to the point of death – even while I didn’t know Him.

“Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous person, though for a good person someone might possibly dare to die. But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:7-8).

The idea that a High King would lay aside His majesty for His people is awesome. That He would do it for sinners who hated Him is absurd … But that’s Jesus.

He is love. He is what love looks like, sounds like, feels like! He is the very essence of love, against which all else pales in comparison. And without Him there can be no true love: We love because He first loved us.

So I’m no longer cringing or scoffing at what my pastor said those eight years ago. Even when I look at my partner, I’m still fully convicted in my heart that God is infinitely better than an earthly husband or wife.

Knowing Jesus is the best decision I will ever make.

Here’s how you can accept Jesus Christ into your heart through a simple prayer of faith:
“Lord Jesus, for too long I’ve kept you out of my life. I know that I am a sinner and that I cannot save myself. No longer will I close the door when I hear you knocking. By faith I gratefully receive your gift of salvation. I am ready to trust you as my Lord and Saviour.

Thank you, Lord Jesus, for coming to earth. I believe you are the Son of God who died on the cross for my sins and rose from the dead on the third day. Thank you for bearing my sins and giving me the gift of eternal life. I believe your words are true. Come into my heart, Lord Jesus, and be my Saviour. Amen.”
If you’ve said this prayer and would like help getting connected to a local Church or community of believers, feel free to drop us a message at [email protected]!