I am currently reading a book by Len Kageler in which he mentioned a question he often asks his students. I thought it was an interesting question, and I would love to hear your responses to it.
At what point did your faith become your own? That is, do you see your Christian faith as a carryover of what your parents told you, or has there been a point when you realized it is now your faith, not theirs. Be honest. Tell me your story.
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I’m 31 and when I was 20 the Lord started putting His finger on my life and starting walking with God as opposed to just believing in Him. There’s more to how God spoke but it was Him and not someone coming up to me or whatever.
I come from a long tradition of being religious and mainly Christian in some way, shape, or form. Dunkard Brethren Preachers, Mainly Methodists, some Back-row Southern Baptists – being a believer is in my DNA. I remember starting going to church as young kid, it was my grandparents church. I grew up, eventually moved away and starting discovering my own Christianity up north. Then some difficult questions arose: “When Paul wrote ‘women remain silent’ did he mean that for all time?” “Which denomination is right?” and “Is the only thing we need Jesus?” About this time, one of the families had hosted an exchange student who came from a Catholic background and yet was 100 times more Christian than any of us were. When we told the pastor that we had agreed that we only needed Jesus because she deserved to be in heaven more than we did, he spent the Sunday after that’s sermon explaining what heretics were and that they didn’t believe Six Day Creationism, Baptism by Immersion, and some other doctrine – essentially saying that you have to have ‘Jesus and this or Jesus plus that’. The entire youth group got the message that they were heretics and quit going to church altogether. It was about then I stumbled on a non-denominational church that let me figure out what I believed for myself and why I believed it. They let me ask the tough questions that the other churches wouldn’t and they weren’t offended by it either. It took awhile to build up my Christianity from there, but it was no longer a clone of what my grandparents were taught, nor was it exactly in accordance with the denominational teachings. It proved to a firm foundation a few years later when we moved yet again and had to deal with even more church-related problems, including questionable interpretations of completely biblical doctrines, gender segregation during prayers, and a pastor up and quitting after only a year. I might have lost some faith in church, but Jesus won’t let me down and that’s enough for me for now.
Here’s my story about my faith.
Being raised in a Christian home of course I was taught the Bible and how I needed a personal relationship with Christ etc. I sincerely accepted Christ into my heart and life at a very early age. In my young mind and understanding this is what I truly wanted. I knew even then that I had to make that decision for myself and had to be accountable for my choices. As I was growing up and understanding more I remember re-dedicating my life many times to the Lord. Again it was my choice and never felt pressured. It was my desire to live for the Lord. I think there were milestone decisions probably based on maturing, understanding and not wanting to go down a destructive path like some of my friends. For sure about the ages of 13 and 16 and as a young adult. Again I think there were events in my life, maybe a crossroads that I decided to follow Christ. – Gale