Owning My Faith
I was brought up in a Christian family so you could say I am a second generation Christian. My dad became a Christian when he was still schooling and I remember him telling me how he brought some of his primary school, secondary school and polytechnic friends to Christ. My grandparents and his side of the family are also Christians. Hence, I knew about Christ since young. I attended Sunday school and went to church with my parents because that was how I was brought up.
One person that impacted my faith was my paternal grandmother. I used to sleep with her when I was very young in the same room and I would see her get up every morning to pray on her knees. This left a deep impression on me and cultivated a praying habit in me as well.
As I grew older and went to school, I made friends and realised that not everyone knew Christ and that there were other religions besides Christianity. This made me curious and I began to search for more answers as well as question my own faith. Through this searching and questioning process, I owned my faith. In the past, it was more of my parents’ faith. I was born into a Christian family so naturally it made sense that I was a Christian but I didn’t know then that there were other options and that I could make a choice. God has always shown Himself to me to be faithful and I have tasted His goodness firsthand and that was what made me decide to really own this Christian faith. I also resisted getting baptised by default until I was very sure that I wanted to make Jesus not just my Saviour, but my Lord as well and to surrender my will to Him.
Looking back, there were times when I thought how cool it would be if I was not a believer since young, then my testimony to my friends would be more impactful and I can win more souls to Christ through my life changing experience cos I don’t see much change as I knew Christ from the start. Or how I got the short end of the stick by abiding by God’s rules since young when I could have done all the evils of the world and enjoyed all the worldly pleasures of the flesh and not feel guilty before accepting Christ later and still go to Heaven.
But I realised how blessed I am to be able to know Christ at all. Not everyone has this opportunity. And how surrendering to His will does not make me lose out in life because His yoke is light and his commands are to keep us safe, not to squeeze the fun out of our lives as He wants us to experience true joy.
God has not promised us a good life if we were to abide in Him but He did promise never to leave nor forsake us. Living in Singapore, we are very fortunate that we do not face persecution because of our religion. But that does not mean we live a trouble free life too. When I entered the army, it was a melting pot of people from various backgrounds and the peer pressure was there to conform to the world as well as to take the easy or ungodly way out especially when majority of the people are doing so. Similarly when I entered the working world, I had to hold true to my moral compass in the "dog-eat-dog" business world. But I am very grateful for the brothers and sisters that God has placed in the various areas of my life. I have had no cause of grieve in transiting from my schooling life to army and even to working life. Besides having Christians in the various parts of my life, my family and church have been the consistent anchor in my walk with God.
After I owned my faith, I found it easier to have peace. It’s this peace that the Bible talks about that transcends human understanding. I always hold on to His promise that God works for the good of those that love Him. I seek comfort that if our Heavenly Father feeds the birds of the air, He will definitely look after me. This causes me to worry less about the things I cannot control and trust in God. I hope that I can continue to have a closer relationship with Him and enjoy what God has in store for me in this life before calling me home!
