Hi! I am Deborah Wong. I am currently twenty years old, and I just finished my third year at UCLA. I would like to share with you about how God has changed my life and given me a purpose for living.
I was exposed to different religious ideas from a young age. My parents taught me that I had to do good things to get into heaven because my mom is Catholic and my dad is Episcopalian. However, they sent me to a Christian school that taught salvation by faith in Jesus Christ alone. I saw that the Bible clearly stated that it is faith in Jesus Christ that saves, not good works, so I thought I became saved by believing that Jesus Christ died on the cross to pay for my sins. I did not change my way of living because I did not understand what it meant to truly love God or to repent from my life of sin; I felt that I had met the qualifications simply by believing.
Beginning in middle school, I became aware of other people’s opinions of me, so I aspired to be perfect in everything so I could be well-liked. I studied hard, I strived to excel in my extracurricular activities, and I treated people nicely. However, as I grew older, my friends developed interests that were against my morals, and just being nice and good at everything was not “cool.” I was confused and no longer knew how to interact with people. I made compromises to fit in, but I still did not feel accepted. One of my high school teachers talked to me about how I was not saved because I was not living in submission to Christ, but I did not understand what she was talking about. I felt that I was living a life honoring to God because I believed in Jesus’ death and resurrection, and I made effort to do good things to benefit others. I did not understand that I was breaking God’s commandments to make other people like me and that my purpose for doing good things was to glorify myself instead of glorify God.
When I began attending UCLA, I slowly began to understand what my teacher was talking to me about. I attended a Christian fellowship called Grace on Campus, and I noticed that the people I met there worshipped God whole-heartedly, studied the Bible eagerly, and desired to evangelize faithfully. I was drawn to this fellowship because the people genuinely cared about me and wanted to help me because of their love for God, but I did not understand their eagerness to serve God and learn more about Him. I began to feel that there was something wrong with the way I was living. I learned from 1 John 2:3-6 that “by this we know that we have come to know him, if we keep his commandments. Whoever says ‘I know him’ but does not keep his commandments is a liar, and the truth is not in him, but whoever keeps his word, in him truly the love of God is perfected. By this we may know that we are in him: whoever says he abides in him ought to walk in the same way in which he walked.” I came to realize that I did not have the desire to obey God’s commandments because I was prioritizing my relationships with people over my relationship with God. According to 1 John, I was not truly saved.
Upon realizing this, I reevaluated my life. I knew that God loved me and sent His son to die on the cross for my sins and would forgive me for all my sins if I believed, but this time, I finally loved God in return for what He did for me and desired to demonstrate that by turning away from my life of sin. My life started to change; I came to love His Word and I strived to base my actions on what the Bible commanded rather than what would be popularly accepted. I now have the confidence that God has control over every aspect of my life, and I live with the purpose of glorifying Him.
I was exposed to different religious ideas from a young age. My parents taught me that I had to do good things to get into heaven because my mom is Catholic and my dad is Episcopalian. However, they sent me to a Christian school that taught salvation by faith in Jesus Christ alone. I saw that the Bible clearly stated that it is faith in Jesus Christ that saves, not good works, so I thought I became saved by believing that Jesus Christ died on the cross to pay for my sins. I did not change my way of living because I did not understand what it meant to truly love God or to repent from my life of sin; I felt that I had met the qualifications simply by believing.
Beginning in middle school, I became aware of other people’s opinions of me, so I aspired to be perfect in everything so I could be well-liked. I studied hard, I strived to excel in my extracurricular activities, and I treated people nicely. However, as I grew older, my friends developed interests that were against my morals, and just being nice and good at everything was not “cool.” I was confused and no longer knew how to interact with people. I made compromises to fit in, but I still did not feel accepted. One of my high school teachers talked to me about how I was not saved because I was not living in submission to Christ, but I did not understand what she was talking about. I felt that I was living a life honoring to God because I believed in Jesus’ death and resurrection, and I made effort to do good things to benefit others. I did not understand that I was breaking God’s commandments to make other people like me and that my purpose for doing good things was to glorify myself instead of glorify God.
When I began attending UCLA, I slowly began to understand what my teacher was talking to me about. I attended a Christian fellowship called Grace on Campus, and I noticed that the people I met there worshipped God whole-heartedly, studied the Bible eagerly, and desired to evangelize faithfully. I was drawn to this fellowship because the people genuinely cared about me and wanted to help me because of their love for God, but I did not understand their eagerness to serve God and learn more about Him. I began to feel that there was something wrong with the way I was living. I learned from 1 John 2:3-6 that “by this we know that we have come to know him, if we keep his commandments. Whoever says ‘I know him’ but does not keep his commandments is a liar, and the truth is not in him, but whoever keeps his word, in him truly the love of God is perfected. By this we may know that we are in him: whoever says he abides in him ought to walk in the same way in which he walked.” I came to realize that I did not have the desire to obey God’s commandments because I was prioritizing my relationships with people over my relationship with God. According to 1 John, I was not truly saved.
Upon realizing this, I reevaluated my life. I knew that God loved me and sent His son to die on the cross for my sins and would forgive me for all my sins if I believed, but this time, I finally loved God in return for what He did for me and desired to demonstrate that by turning away from my life of sin. My life started to change; I came to love His Word and I strived to base my actions on what the Bible commanded rather than what would be popularly accepted. I now have the confidence that God has control over every aspect of my life, and I live with the purpose of glorifying Him.