Because Jesus

I’ll never forget where I was when I first considered Jesus.

It was 2000. I was in Hawaii on an orchestra trip as a sophomore in high school.  My closest friends were on the trip with me, so I suppose it is only natural that we would have more intimate conversations while on a week-long trip to the big island. 

Katy started talking about faith, church, and Jesus. As a kid that didn’t grow up going to church, I was unfamiliar with a lot of the things she was saying, but I remember her telling the group that we were sinners, Jesus was the Savior and we needed to have faith in Him alone for salvation.  My 15-year-old brain thought that was ridiculous….and I was a little offended, to be honest, because I wasn’t a sinner! I was a good person. I did all the right things.  I was nice to my friends, followed the rules, and turned in my homework on time.  I didn’t need this Jesus person to do anything for me.  I was doing fine on my own, thank you. 

Fast forward a few short months later to youth camp when I was confronted with this Jesus guy again. What’s up with this Jesus?? I knew Jesus was important at Christmas, but why do we keep talking about him? A few days of camp had passed and I started to notice the students around me. They all seemed different, like they knew something I didn’t.  I began to feel like something was missing from my life but I had no idea what it was. I never thought the answer would be so simple- Jesus. 

I said yes to Jesus that night. That’s when I really met Jesus for the first time and I committed my life to following Him. At that moment, my life was thrown into a completely different trajectory that I never would have imagined as a teenager.  

My faith has certainly evolved over the last 20 years, filled with ups and downs, filled certainty and doubts, but yet I still keep coming back to Jesus. No matter how hard to try to reason my way out of this faith thing, Jesus just keeps popping back up. 

And if I’m honest with myself….

I follow Jesus because I made a commitment and I don’t like to break promises. 

I follow Jesus because He brings hope and comfort when the future feels bleak. 

I follow Jesus because He brings purpose to my life, turns my feet in the right direction. 

I follow Jesus because He teaches me how to love others when they are so hard to love.

I follow Jesus because I know he is present in my life.  He listens. 

I follow Jesus because He’s the incarnation of a God I worship, yet can’t put a face to. 

I follow Jesus because I believe in His promises of a life fulfilled. 

I follow Jesus because he is a reminder that I can’t do everything on my own, no matter how hard I try. 

{I wrote this article for the March 2020 edition of the Clarion put out by First Baptist Church of Austin.}