I grew up blessed with Christian parents who came to believe in the gospel after they moved to the United States. Because of that, I was raised with Christian ideals, constantly going to church and doing all the church activities. At each activity, I learned more and more about God and who He is. I learned about Adam and Eve, how they sinned, all the Old Testament stories of God’s patience and mercy towards Israel. I learned about Jesus’s birth, death and resurrection and all the stories of the apostles. To be honest, I did not realize the significance of most of these stories. But the Gospel message was always clearly presented. I was told that I have disobeyed God’s command and because of that I deserved punishment. But God, because of His love, sent his own Son to die on my behalf to save me. Although I cannot pinpoint the exact moment I believed this message, I know it was sometime in elementary school. After hearing the message so many times, God opened my heart to understand that I needed a Savior from my sins. Evidence of my true repentance was the fact that when I sinned, there was not only guilt from disappointing my parents, but also an understanding that God was offended and displeased with what I had done.
Despite my salvation, I did not grow in my faith very quickly. I still struggled with my sin and did not develop a deep personal relationship with God. Throughout my life until college, I maintained only a superficial understanding of the character of God and never pushed myself to live a holy life to the glory of God. But the same God who granted me grace for salvation also provides grace for my sanctification. God brought me to UCLA and to Grace on Campus where I learned of the importance of holiness. God worked in my heart through other godly men to fill my mind with more Truth about who God is and what pleases Him. The wonders of Scripture opened up to me and a desire to learn more stirred in my heart, causing me to fight sin, pursue holiness, and even pass that knowledge on to other people.
And now here I am. I am by no means perfect. I still continue to fight the fleshly desires of my sinful nature, but by the grace of God, I know that His grace is sufficient. In my desire to live for God, I decided to join the Japan STM 1 in order to see the glory of His grace present in other parts of the world. I knew that it was an opportunity to serve and worship God in a way that I had never experienced before.
Despite my salvation, I did not grow in my faith very quickly. I still struggled with my sin and did not develop a deep personal relationship with God. Throughout my life until college, I maintained only a superficial understanding of the character of God and never pushed myself to live a holy life to the glory of God. But the same God who granted me grace for salvation also provides grace for my sanctification. God brought me to UCLA and to Grace on Campus where I learned of the importance of holiness. God worked in my heart through other godly men to fill my mind with more Truth about who God is and what pleases Him. The wonders of Scripture opened up to me and a desire to learn more stirred in my heart, causing me to fight sin, pursue holiness, and even pass that knowledge on to other people.
And now here I am. I am by no means perfect. I still continue to fight the fleshly desires of my sinful nature, but by the grace of God, I know that His grace is sufficient. In my desire to live for God, I decided to join the Japan STM 1 in order to see the glory of His grace present in other parts of the world. I knew that it was an opportunity to serve and worship God in a way that I had never experienced before.