noguru said:
Just curious Becky and rlg222nc, do you both have faith only so that you can have eternal life? Or do you have faith because it is heartfelt? IOW what came first the desire for eternal life or faith in Christ?
Well, to quote myself:
Becky said:
It was reading the Gospel for myself that finally convinced me. As I was reading the book of Matthew, I suddenly realized that what I was reading was more than just a book of fictional stories. It became clear to me that this was the testimony of real people, describing real events. At that point, I knew how foolish I'd been. How "puffed up" I was with pride and selfishenss. I cried and thanked Jesus for the sacrifice He made. All the pieces began to fall togehter and history had a purpose I'd never realized before. My life has never been the same.
At that moment, eternal life didn't even come into my mind. All I could think about was what a terrible person I had been and how thankful I was that Jesus loved me enough to go to the Cross for me.
As I began my new life as a Christian, there were a lot of things I didn't understand (and still don't, I'm sure). As I've studied (and fallen in love with) the Bible, my joy continues to grow. We have a great and wonderful God. I trust in His wisdom and grace and I thank Him everyday for the gift of salvation.
