When my parents were married, they moved from Taiwan to America for my dad’s graduate school. They lived a very humble life and struggled to survive in America. At the time, they went to church and both my parents were baptized. My dad finished his PhD program, found a very good job, and they moved to Southern California. When my parents moved, they no longer went to church anymore. My brother and I were both born in Southern California and neither of us attended church as children.
I lived a normal sheltered American life – I had good friends, I excelled in school, I liked my life. However, when I went to middle school, I rebelled against my parents. I became involved in very worldly pursuits – I loved popularity, shopping, and attention from boys! I was disobedient to my parents and did not show them respect. Although many would say this is normal for teenagers, these worldly pursuits were a result of a heart of pride and hatred against God. I treated myself as god, serving only my own desires. I did not know it, but I was on the path to destruction because of my disobedience to God’s standards.
The Bible says in Proverbs 17:5 that “everyone who is proud in heart is an abomination to the Lord; assuredly, he will not be unpunished.”
Even though I was a sinner, God showed compassion for me. He knew that I could not save myself, so God sent His Son to take my judgment upon himself on the cross. The summer before I entered into High School, my Christian cousins invited me to a church retreat. This retreat was my first real exposure to Christians. I did not understand why everybody was singing, why they would want to listen to preaching, why they were so nice! I made some friends at the retreat, and then I started to go to church sometimes on Sunday to see my friends. After a year of going to church and reading the Bible, I began to realize that people do not go to church because they are kind people, but rather they go to church because they know they are sinners that need God’s kindness.
When I was in high school, I recognized that I too was a sinner. All of my earthly pursuits were all vanity because I did not know my Creator. I finally recognized that I deserved punishment in hell, but that by faith in Christ I could be considered righteous before God. 2 Corinthians 5:21, speaking of Jesus, says that God “made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.” I repented of my sins and gave my life to God when I was 16 years old. Out of obedience to God’s Word, I was baptized when I was 17 and have been active in the church ever since.
After I went to college, my mom started to go to church again. She came back to the faith, and we now pray for my dad and brother’s salvation.
I lived a normal sheltered American life – I had good friends, I excelled in school, I liked my life. However, when I went to middle school, I rebelled against my parents. I became involved in very worldly pursuits – I loved popularity, shopping, and attention from boys! I was disobedient to my parents and did not show them respect. Although many would say this is normal for teenagers, these worldly pursuits were a result of a heart of pride and hatred against God. I treated myself as god, serving only my own desires. I did not know it, but I was on the path to destruction because of my disobedience to God’s standards.
The Bible says in Proverbs 17:5 that “everyone who is proud in heart is an abomination to the Lord; assuredly, he will not be unpunished.”
Even though I was a sinner, God showed compassion for me. He knew that I could not save myself, so God sent His Son to take my judgment upon himself on the cross. The summer before I entered into High School, my Christian cousins invited me to a church retreat. This retreat was my first real exposure to Christians. I did not understand why everybody was singing, why they would want to listen to preaching, why they were so nice! I made some friends at the retreat, and then I started to go to church sometimes on Sunday to see my friends. After a year of going to church and reading the Bible, I began to realize that people do not go to church because they are kind people, but rather they go to church because they know they are sinners that need God’s kindness.
When I was in high school, I recognized that I too was a sinner. All of my earthly pursuits were all vanity because I did not know my Creator. I finally recognized that I deserved punishment in hell, but that by faith in Christ I could be considered righteous before God. 2 Corinthians 5:21, speaking of Jesus, says that God “made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.” I repented of my sins and gave my life to God when I was 16 years old. Out of obedience to God’s Word, I was baptized when I was 17 and have been active in the church ever since.
After I went to college, my mom started to go to church again. She came back to the faith, and we now pray for my dad and brother’s salvation.