When I was seven years old, a kind lady with the body of a sparrow but the spirit of a lion told me that the God who created the world loved me so much that he sent Jesus to die and rise again.
Through Jesus, God was holding his love and friendship out like a free gift but, like any gift, I didn’t own it until I accepted it.
I’m not sure I understood the entirety of that concept when I was seven, but I understood enough to know that being friends with God and being forgiven for my sin sounded like a great idea.
So I prayed and told God I wanted to accept that gift.
This was the most important thing that happened to me in primary school. Even more important than learning to read. Seriously.
Others in my family were on similar journeys of faith that were entirely separate to mine. We soon started attending a church that taught us to read and know the Bible. In those pages I learned that the gift that I’d accepted was God’s grace. Thanks to Jesus, I was free from constantly having to do things to please God, but I could live a changed life because of what He’d done for me. In other words, I didn’t have to live in fear of God, I could have hope in Him.
Of course, a lot has happened between when I was seven and now.
But here are a few ways that this hope I have from being a Christian has impacted my life:
It means that mistakes I make in my totally imperfect life don’t define me, Jesus does.
It meant that when my daughter passed away when she was 20 months old after a long illness I could have confidence that she is now in a place with no crying or pain and I will see her again.
It means that I try to think like Jesus when looking at the big issues of life, and interrogate them with the scriptures as my main source for wisdom.
It doesn’t mean that I live a perfect life and think I’m better than everyone else because I never do anything wrong. It doesn’t mean that I have no empathy for people who are different to me or that I spend my days judging others.
If you are looking for a label for my theology, Evangelical Anglican fits best.
If you want a statement of faith, the Nicene Creed has worked for Christians for 1500 years…and it’s good enough for me too.
My faith infuses my creative work. I strive to be authentic, not didactic, in the way I represent all people on the page. To understand more about this, sign up to my newsletter below.
