How Jesus Has Affected My Life

J…Joy

E…Ecstasy

S…Security

U…Unique and Universal

S…Supporter

We got an assignment in Church one Sunday recently. We were asked to write down how Jesus has touched our lives. I have heard this discussed many times, and I have heard testimonies of other people. Whenever I would try to think of what my testimony should be I would come up short…actually with no ideas at all. Oh, I have faith, and so I had no doubt that my life has always been positively affected by Jesus in it. However, I never seemed to be ably to formulate the reasons.

I have found that I often am not fully aware of my thoughts or feelings about something until I write about it. I hope that as I write this I will become aware of what the Lord has done for me. He has always been a part of my life. From as early as I can remember I knew about Him and believed in Him. All my learning years happened against the backdrop of an awareness of God. It was a part of every day.

I grew up Catholic, and I was very serious about following the rules that were part of that denomination. I now see that as being legalistic. I attended Mass every Sunday. I was a lector reading gospel passages during Mass, and I was a lay minister serving Communion. I tried to do good and avoid evil. I believed the claim of the Catholic Church that it was the one true religion. I felt privileged to be a part of this.

It is a long story how I became a born again Christian, and an explanation of that wondrous happening is not even necessary to this writing. However, I can see the hand of God in my arrival to that moment. Jesus took the hand of a woman who believed that there was no reason to look for anything new, and life has never been the same. All my theological knowledge is used in a different way which is now applied to a relationship with Jesus that blesses me on a daily basis. The amazing thing that I am hoping you can see here is that I was lost and did not know that I was lost until I was found.

J…Joy

“You give me Joy unspeakable,” the song says. Only now am I able to recognize it. I know that from the moment I was born Jesus had held me in His loving arms. On an intellectual level I recognized that throughout my entire life from my early years into adulthood. I knew that He had come to offer me salvation, and that I would not be able go to heaven if He had not died on the cross. I was grateful for that, but I never truly experienced who He really was. Then, one lovely day in January of 1996, I said the Prayer of Salvation, and it was as if the flood gates of Heaven had opened up for me.

I was “born again.” I became a baby in Jesus’ arms just as I had been at the time of my birth many years before. The difference was that I could feel Him closer than I had ever felt Him in the past. I was brand new, and filled with a Joy that I had never known until then. That day was the first day of the rest of my life.

E…Ecstasy

The happiness I have experienced since then that has gone beyond that rather wishy washy word to be better described as Ecstasy. Oh, don’t get me wrong! I am not saying here that my life has been without challenges and sorrows. I have had my share of them to be sure in the years since 1996. I have made mistakes. I have sinned. Coming from where I came I experienced the guilt that was my habit in spite of the fact that I knew better. But now when I went go the dark rooms of my mind where habits still hide I saw that there was a little crack between the bricks where the Sonshine was breaking through. In the old days, I had tormented myself about things that I did. I hated myself for being like Paul doing what I did not want to do and not doing what I wanted to do. I often felt a despair and helplessness as I tried to earn forgiveness and to escape my shortcomings by my own works.

Having Ecstasy means that I no longer have to save myself from myself. It means that my heavenly Father forgives me when I repent. I do not have a “Dalmatian soul” that must be cleansed to worry about dragging alone as I start my eternal journey. Because of Jesus Christ I am washed clean. Because of Him, when I repent I know that God forgets my sin. There is no further thing that I have to do to help myself along. I am expected to try to “sin no more,” as Jesus once had told an adulteress. But the Lord God has placed my sin in the “sea of forgetfulness.” And the great news is that this is an ongoing process between me and my Father because of Jesus.

S…Security

As we grow we depend heavily upon our parents, older siblings, grandparents, and others who provide care for us. Whether we are strong and confident depends on the kind of caregivers they are. Some of us have more effective care than others, but, even in the most functional of families, some wounds are inflicted that affect the degree of security we feel.

Jesus is my Security. He has no shortcomings. Jesus takes me by the hand and helps me to walk. He will never let go or let me down. He never changes. He always loves, and He never fails. I never have to feel timid or apprehensive about who I will find when I go to Him. He is the perfect and loving parent or brother. He is the Supreme Caregiver of my life, my well being, and my roadmap for my journey. He is loving and forgiving. That is available to me when I chose Him and whenever I choose to call upon Him. This is more than security. It is the ultimate SECURITY!

U…Unique and Universal

There is nowhere that we can find the kind of love that Jesus gives us. He is Unique. No one but Jesus and the Father love unconditionally and never take into account how base the object of their affection (in this case me) might be. They see beyond my flaws and love me anyway. In the world people want other people to jump through hoops to receive their blessings. The love they give is conditional. I know that Jesus’ love for me is unconditional and therefore different from all human love I have experienced. It is a Unique love that will never be equaled by anyone on earth. In addition, I know that even if I had been the only person that ever was born Jesus would have died so that I might spend Eternity with Him and his Father.

In addition this love and offer of salvation is there for anyone to accept. This makes the love and sacrifice of Jesus Universal. There are no cliques with Jesus. We are all called to His table. It is such a relief that there is no hazing and no compromises to join Him. Our only test is the one that we take when we choose and when we show ourselves to be people who want what He is offering.

S…Supporter

As we mature to adults starting with adolescence and not ending until our elderly years are over we never loose our need for support. This need is not visible like when we are babies and children or like when we are old, but it is always there. Throughout our lives we are supported in some degree by our family. People come into our lives and provide the support that friendship brings. Sometimes they stay for a lifetime. Sometimes the season of that friendship is over and they go from our lives. This is the way of the world. Along the journey these people are our supports and leaning posts. Our lives are enriched by them. In many cases the Lord has put them into our lives to carry His love and message to us.

However, nothing is forever except Jesus. He is my Supporter and my Mentor. I can rely on Him to be there for me in the good times and bad. This gives me comfort and confidence in the fact that I am never alone. I can give Him my load, and He will help me carry it. All I have to do is to call on Him.

Joy…Ecstasy…Security…Unique…Supporter

Jesus is all these thing in my life. There is a beautiful sense of well being knowing that He is always there taking care of me. I no longer have to worry or fear dying. I KNOW that He will be there at the door to say, “Welcome, home my good and faithful servant.” This confidence is how Jesus has affected my life. And that “amazing grace…that saved a wretch like me” has made all the difference.