Essay about My Personal Relationship With Jesus

My walk with Christ started from childhood . Memories of being brought along to church activities are my earliest memories. My mother was very active in ministry, which meant attending every church activity. After years of seeing my mother serve, I  had a desire to do the same. Although I was very active in the church I did not grasp Jesus' compassion and grace. It merely just seemed like the right thing to do on Sundays and Wednesdays night. 

I always knew about Jesus and knew I wanted  to go to heaven , but that's all I understood. I went to church on Wednesdays and Sundays I treated as if it were a routine. As I got older and more mature, I started to understand, My relationship with Jesus a little more. But for a very long time, I pictured God as an "angry" God with impossible rules. Every time I messed up I, thought God was mad at me, Now as I look back with spiritual maturity, I realize that. Although He is our father and he delights in us when we make good choices. Nothing I can ever do will make his love increase/decrease. I started to learn that my sin showed my brokenness, and how I'm a sinner in need of a savior. 

I didn't begin having a true relationship with Jesus until I was a freshman in high school. During this time, My father walked out of my life. Being so young when this happened, I thought it was my fault. "Father" was always a hard word for me to understand.  When people would say this word, only memories of pain would come into mind. One night I was reminded, as I was reading my bible, that God was a father to the fatherless. As I started to believe this truth, It washed away the pain and the hurt of my earthly father's absence. Although I still long for a father figure, I remind myself that I have been, accepted by Jesus and have the status of being an heir of God (Romans 8:16-17). At this point, I learned God's love surpasses every single hurt and disappointment.  

Towards the end of Freshmen year, God blessed me with an amazing youth leader. She was the definition of a Godly women. Gianna strived to show Jesus is every part of her life. Although I grew up hearing the Gospel, It wasn't until she fully explained the depth of Jesus' love that I truly understood . She also stressed that Christianity isn't a religion of rules, It's a relationship, our love for him will ultimately be responsive to his commands.  That simple truth still has a profound effect on me.