I was raised in a Christian home, so it was natural for me to attend church. But I got very busy in middle school with extra-curricular activities, which took place every day including Sundays. I could barely attend church for those three years in middle school. Looking back on it, I wasn’t close to God because all I could think about was club activities.
One day, after I had taken my high school entrance exam and things had calmed down, I was invited by K to a “hi-b.a.” event. hi-b.a. is a Christian ministry for high school students. They host all kinds of events, and this summer they had a camp. I wanted to get to know Christian friends and to know God more too, so I joined the camp. On the first night of camp, a staff member spoke on “The Love of God”, and that message impacted me.
In middle school I often compared myself with other people, in terms of my performance in club activities and studies. I did the same in high school, and there were times I looked down on myself. There were times I felt all alone and, being far from God, I would cry all by myself. But I was reminded by a passage in the Bible that, even if we are far from God, He doesn’t stop loving us.
Isaiah 43:4 says, “Since you are precious and honored in my sight, and because I love you…” and Isaiah 49:15-16 says, “I will not forget you! See, I have engraved you on the palms of my hands…”
“You are precious and honored in my sight,” says God, who loves me. I thought my worth was decided by how people saw me. But it is God who decides my worth. Furthermore, He says, “I have engraved you on the palms of my hands.” God will not forget me and will never leave me. When I thought about that, I realized how great His love was. I wondered what I could possibly do in response to Him.
At the end of the message, the hi-b.a. staff said, “If you haven’t put your trust in Jesus, would you like to do that today? If you have already, how about deciding that you want to be baptized? If so, please raise your hand.” In response to God’s love, I raised my hand as a decision to be baptized.
I renewed my decision to live as a believer of Jesus, my only Savior. To end, I would like to share a verse that I hope to keep close to my heart. Isaiah 46:4: “Even to your old age and gray hairs I am he, I am he who will sustain you. I have made you and I will carry you; I will sustain you and I will rescue you.”
