Prompt: Write about your earliest religious experiences. Think about the first time you thought about God. Consider church, the first time you prayed alone, or any particularly religious images or experiences that stand out to you. Then, write about how your faith has developed as you've grown. Focus on key events.
I grew up in a Christian home for all my life. [FSAE: Correction-- I grew up in the church, but not a home.] Because I was surrounded by Christians, I suppose it was assumed and inevitable for God to create in me a new heart devoted to Him. My parents never directly talked about faith, Christianity, or God for as long as I can remember, however faithful they were and are to God, which really left a shy disposition in me when talking about such subjects, even in secluded Christian atmospheres like Youth Group and Bible studies, and even Valley Christian.
That introduction being said, I prayed before meals occasionally and prayed before Iwent to bed, but Inever really understood any of the Christianity that Iwould have associated myself with. That is, not until Iwas ten years old, in sixth grade, and Iwas learning about Reformed Christianity under Mrs. Sim [FSAE: then Miss Kim, but that's another story]. When she taught me about the five points of Calvinism, I finally understood what it meant when God interposed His Son for me, a sinner and a rebellious enemy to the throne of grace. [FSAE: I'm not sure where Istand even now on God's covenant. I tend to lean towards Reformed Baptist, from my own experience and conversion.] Unfortunately, my bottleneck conversion was directly followed by my father sidestepping his role as the head of his household, and I was forced to rapidly mature both emotionally and spiritually. [FSAE: I don't remember exactly how these two events coincided] The night my father left me, I cried so much that my tears crusted over my eyelashes and Ithought Ihad cried myself blind, because I could not see.. Since then, I've learned how to trust in God's love [which opens the eyes of the blind].
Ido not remember really praying before I was converted, but Ido remember my grandparents really healing my broken heart, time after time. They would sing and pray and lead by example. I also learned that school [and education] is a gift and a pleasure from them, rather than a chore and a job. That may seem pretty red herring, but I've gone through Christian private schooling from Kindergarten on their dime, so Ihave had many long years of sheltered guidance, for which Iam exceedingly thankful.
I was baptized at birth, and while of course Iwill not possibly be able to remember that occasion, my grandparents just recently showed me the video they taped of Greg Bahnsen baptizing me, and Greg Bahnsen really spent a long time genuinely praying for me, for my future spiritual walk. [FSAE: If God wills it, this man of faith will see his prayer answered in my ministry.] I became a communicant member of the church on February 22, 2004, and it was not until afterwards that Itruly understood why my pastor [Paul Viggiano of Branch of Hope OPC] always stresses that the fourth and final question asked of church members is so special and controversial--that one would submit themselves to church discipline if found wanting in life or doctrine against that specific church's teachings. Being a communicant member of the church means one is allowed to partake in the Lord's Supper, a remembrance of the Passover meal eaten by Christ and His disciples, and Ilearned some very special lessons about those two elements from Mr. Becksvoort's "The Land, The Culture, and The Book" class (LCB). [FSAE: I still don't really have a good grasp of consubstantiation, but Ifeel like my prior self didn't clarify enough-- the Lord's Supper is more than remembrance, as a tasting of the future Marriage Supper.] The Passover Lamb was chosen from the flocks of Bethlehem three days before the Passover, just as Jesus of Bethlehem made His triumphal entry three days before He made His propitiatory sacrifice for us. About Himself, He then spoke the customary words with which the priest would consecrate the sacrificial Passover lamb, saying "This is My body, given for you; do this in remembrance of Me"(Luke 22:19). He took the cup after the Passover meal, which would have been the third cup of the meal, signifying the "Cup of Redemption," [FSAE: being the 3rd of 4 promises made in Exodus 6:6-7] and drank in remembrance of God's mighty deliverance from bondage of Egypt, and spoke the words customary at the time with which a man would offer to a prospective bride in an engagement ritual, saying "This cup is the new covenant in my blood, which is poured out for you"(Luke 22:20). He thus tied the example of deliverance from bondage to the deliverance from sin, showing that His death would be the prophesied true "Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world"(John 1:29). This is what Christianity means to me today: God sent His Son to redeem for His Son a wayward and spiritually dead bride, and it is only by His resuscitation (justification) and guidance (sanctification) that this bride may live to love her Savior [FSAE: and Lord]. What a beautiful love story!
I grew up in a Christian home for all my life. [FSAE: Correction-- I grew up in the church, but not a home.] Because I was surrounded by Christians, I suppose it was assumed and inevitable for God to create in me a new heart devoted to Him. My parents never directly talked about faith, Christianity, or God for as long as I can remember, however faithful they were and are to God, which really left a shy disposition in me when talking about such subjects, even in secluded Christian atmospheres like Youth Group and Bible studies, and even Valley Christian.
That introduction being said, I prayed before meals occasionally and prayed before Iwent to bed, but Inever really understood any of the Christianity that Iwould have associated myself with. That is, not until Iwas ten years old, in sixth grade, and Iwas learning about Reformed Christianity under Mrs. Sim [FSAE: then Miss Kim, but that's another story]. When she taught me about the five points of Calvinism, I finally understood what it meant when God interposed His Son for me, a sinner and a rebellious enemy to the throne of grace. [FSAE: I'm not sure where Istand even now on God's covenant. I tend to lean towards Reformed Baptist, from my own experience and conversion.] Unfortunately, my bottleneck conversion was directly followed by my father sidestepping his role as the head of his household, and I was forced to rapidly mature both emotionally and spiritually. [FSAE: I don't remember exactly how these two events coincided] The night my father left me, I cried so much that my tears crusted over my eyelashes and Ithought Ihad cried myself blind, because I could not see.. Since then, I've learned how to trust in God's love [which opens the eyes of the blind].
Ido not remember really praying before I was converted, but Ido remember my grandparents really healing my broken heart, time after time. They would sing and pray and lead by example. I also learned that school [and education] is a gift and a pleasure from them, rather than a chore and a job. That may seem pretty red herring, but I've gone through Christian private schooling from Kindergarten on their dime, so Ihave had many long years of sheltered guidance, for which Iam exceedingly thankful.
I was baptized at birth, and while of course Iwill not possibly be able to remember that occasion, my grandparents just recently showed me the video they taped of Greg Bahnsen baptizing me, and Greg Bahnsen really spent a long time genuinely praying for me, for my future spiritual walk. [FSAE: If God wills it, this man of faith will see his prayer answered in my ministry.] I became a communicant member of the church on February 22, 2004, and it was not until afterwards that Itruly understood why my pastor [Paul Viggiano of Branch of Hope OPC] always stresses that the fourth and final question asked of church members is so special and controversial--that one would submit themselves to church discipline if found wanting in life or doctrine against that specific church's teachings. Being a communicant member of the church means one is allowed to partake in the Lord's Supper, a remembrance of the Passover meal eaten by Christ and His disciples, and Ilearned some very special lessons about those two elements from Mr. Becksvoort's "The Land, The Culture, and The Book" class (LCB). [FSAE: I still don't really have a good grasp of consubstantiation, but Ifeel like my prior self didn't clarify enough-- the Lord's Supper is more than remembrance, as a tasting of the future Marriage Supper.] The Passover Lamb was chosen from the flocks of Bethlehem three days before the Passover, just as Jesus of Bethlehem made His triumphal entry three days before He made His propitiatory sacrifice for us. About Himself, He then spoke the customary words with which the priest would consecrate the sacrificial Passover lamb, saying "This is My body, given for you; do this in remembrance of Me"(Luke 22:19). He took the cup after the Passover meal, which would have been the third cup of the meal, signifying the "Cup of Redemption," [FSAE: being the 3rd of 4 promises made in Exodus 6:6-7] and drank in remembrance of God's mighty deliverance from bondage of Egypt, and spoke the words customary at the time with which a man would offer to a prospective bride in an engagement ritual, saying "This cup is the new covenant in my blood, which is poured out for you"(Luke 22:20). He thus tied the example of deliverance from bondage to the deliverance from sin, showing that His death would be the prophesied true "Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world"(John 1:29). This is what Christianity means to me today: God sent His Son to redeem for His Son a wayward and spiritually dead bride, and it is only by His resuscitation (justification) and guidance (sanctification) that this bride may live to love her Savior [FSAE: and Lord]. What a beautiful love story!
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