Adrian W.
Question #1:
When did you become a Christian and why?
I became a Christian in grade 9 because I recognized the foreboding judgment that I would be faced with after this life. Basically, I realized that I was sinful or imperfect according to God�s standards and that because of my sinful disposition I was condemned. However, it wasn�t purely based just on the fear of judgment that pushed me to become a Christian; I was also attracted to Jesus Christ�s immense love for us in that He would humble Himself to the position of a human being to die for MY sins. It was this incredible, immeasurable love that Christ offered to me which became the decisive factor for me in becoming a Christian.
Question #2:
How has your life changed ever since? Or how would your life be different if you weren't a Christian?
Many people have said that my life has changed dramatically, and I believe it has. To give you a general idea of what I used to be like, I used to be a real �potty mouth� and that was just a glimpse of the inward sinfulness within my heart. In my personal life, away from my friends and family, I was plagued with immoral thoughts and I felt rotten about it. On the outside, to put it crudely, I may have appeared as just a regular teenage boy going his puberty years (ha!) but I knew inside that it was not right. I knew I had to change, but I had no power to, in and of my own strength. In truth, I was enslaved to the sinful and damaging lifestyle and there was nothing I could do about it. It wasn�t until I became a Christian when I was freed from this sinful lifestyle. But beyond that, I�ve experience so many more blessings. Blessings like real friendships, a life of integrity (no longer having to hide behind a mask who I am), a sense of peace, joy and love, and many more. My life has taken a 180 turn and it is no longer the same. In fact, if I weren�t a Christian, I could very well be dead today, as I will explain later.
Question #3:
How has God been real to you? Or how do you know that God exists?
God has been real and tangible to me in many ways. Although it is true that I�ve never seen, felt, or heard God in the physical sense, His reality to me has been evidenced in other ways. For example, I�ve never believed in the Big Bang theory; to me it just seems preposterous that something so delicate, intricate and beautiful such as our world could come out of nothing. Logic would tell us that something cannot come out of nothing. So, I�ve always believed that a God must have created this universe we live in, it just makes so much more sense. Aside from creation though, drawing from my personal experiences, I�ve also experiences what I believe to be miracles in my life. Obviously, you can always seek to undermine �miracles�, explaining them away as mere coincidences, but I think if you were truly honest with yourself, you would believe them to be more than just happenstance. Anyway, to make a long story short, at one point in my life I was entering a very depressed phase. I won�t delve into the reasons behind it, but essentially I was lapsing into suicidal thoughts. During one night when I had resolved to kill myself (up to that point I just didn�t have the guts to go through with it), I prayed a desperate prayer that if God existed and wanted me alive then He would give me a sign. Miraculously, immediately the phone rang and it was a person from the fellowship that I was attending. What was significant for me from that phone call was that I hardly even knew that person because my attendance had been so sporadic. She called to ask how I was doing and encouraged me to come out to fellowship more often. It could hardly be considered a flash of lightning type of deal miracle but that timely call and considerate gesture was exactly what I needed. I don�t encourage asking God for signs though because, more often than not, they won�t satisfy your cravings for more miracles. In fact, during that phase of my life, I tried re-enacting that whole scenario in an attempt to get God reveal Himself in a more powerful way but it was to no avail. I believe that God always gives you exactly what you need, never more or less. In my case, He had proven Himself real to me already and if I had chosen to ask Him to reveal Himself to me again and again because of my stubborn unbelief, He wasn�t going to wait hand and feet at my every whim. Let us not forget who�s the creator and who�s the created. Moreover, sometimes God chooses not to reveal certain things to us so that we can struggle and wrestle with these doubts in order to strengthen our faith. If, say, God appeared right now before your eyes, you would no longer have any doubts to His existence. However, if there are no more doubts there is no longer any room for faith, the very essence in our belief.
Question #4:
What is your favourite verse and why?
�I eagerly expect and hope that I will in no way be ashamed, but will have sufficient courage so that now as always Christ will be exalted in my body, whether by life or by death. For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain.� Philippians 1:20-21
This is my favorite verse because it aptly describes what I aspire to become; it is my goal to be able to say this with the utmost integrity. On a side note, I think this verse also brings up a lot of issues that a lot of Christians tend to skirt in the attempt to win their non-Christian friends to Christ. What I mean in saying this is that frequently Christians nowadays don�t explain the cost of discipleship or becoming a Christian. Many times they (myself included) just emphasize the blessings of becoming a Christian (all of which are real and valid), but they fail to tell of the hardships that�ll we�ll inevitably have to face or the sacrifice it demands from us resulting in the disillusionment of many Christians.
Question #5:
How have you struggled spiritually?
At times I have wrestled with believing in God�s existence but the overwhelming evidence supporting his existence for me has been just witnessing the dramatic changes that have taken place in my life. Coming off from a depressed, suicidal teenager to a life that is filled with purpose and meaning, God�s hand has been evident through it all. In part, that is what sustains me through those moments when I feel like God is absent from my life � knowing that God has been there for me in the past and trusting in His word that He will always be there for me.
Question #6:
What is the most challenging aspect about being a Christian?
Choosing to surrender every aspect of your life to Christ. It�s not an easy task but it is truly worthwhile in exchange for what is promised to us � eternity in Heaven.
I think this sums up the Christian life (it�s also my favorite quote by one of my role models, Jim Elliot):
�He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose�
Yes, we do give our lives to God for His purposes and for the furtherance of His Kingdom here on earth. And in a sense, that is a sacrifice � a sacrifice of our ambitions, our money, our time, and our lives. But if you truly think about it, what is our life here on earth but the blink of an eye in comparison to eternity. That is why Jim Elliot says he is no fool who gives what he cannot keep (his life here on earth) to gain what he cannot lose (eternity in Heaven).
Question #7:
What is the best thing about being a Christian?
There are too many blessings to be counted but perhaps the surpassing blessing that comes from being a Christian is the amazing relationship you enter into with Jesus Christ.
Question #8:
Describe your relationship with God.
The closest description the Bible comes up with respect to our relationship with God is that of a bride and a bridegroom. The groom is God and the Church collectively is His bride but even on a personal scale, I guess you could say that the same relationship is reflected in my relationship with God.
Question #9:
Who is Jesus to you?
Above all, and equally weighted, Jesus Christ is my Lord and Savior. He is my Lord because my life belongs to Him � it for His use and His glory alone. He is my Savior because He has rescued me from sin�s condemnation and for that I owe Him everything that I am and have.
Question #10:
Have you ever doubted your beliefs?
As mentioned above, yes I have but the testimony of His work in my life is sufficient proof that a loving God does exist. As the saying goes, �you can�t see the wind, but you can see the effects of the wind�. Similarly, I�ve never seen God but His existence is evidenced by the phenomenal changes in my life.
Question #11:
What strengthens you spiritually?
Aside from God Himself, I would have to say my friends have strengthened me spiritually the most. And I think that�s what fellowship and Church was intended for. By far, Howard�s been the single person who�s influenced me the strongest spiritually among my friends though � and that�s probably also why he�s my closest friend.
Question #12:
What does being a Christian entail?
It�s hard to describe in a sentence what Christianity entails because they are just so many nuances towards our faith. It�s a living, personal, dynamic relationship with Jesus Christ. That�s why you can�t compartmentalize it and say it�s a list of 613 do�s and don�ts. Even among prominent Christian leaders there are differences to their convictions � everyone needs to explore their relationship with Jesus Christ for themselves because everyone is unique. At its core though, I�d say that Christianity entails surrendering your whole life to God, which is why it�s so difficult because people want to retain control over their own lives.
Question #13:
Do you have any prayer requests?
If you�re really committed towards praying for me you can always ask me. Sorry, that�s just an excuse because I want to finish this up. :)
Question #14:
If you could send a message to someone who is exploring Christianity, what would it be?
Keep searching! Check all the facts for yourself and don�t give up! Don�t give into the stereotypes � really delve into it and verify it to see if it�s the truth because if it is it�s worth living for. And lastly but most importantly, I challenge you to pray to God that He would reveal Himself to you because I believe that if you�re sincere about it, He will. This is the promise you have:
�Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. I will be found by you," declares the LORD� - Jeremiah 29:12-14b
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