he name “Jesus Christ” has always been familiar to me. Prayer, the Bible and church were a big part of my life, growing up in a Christian home.
I felt like I could share anything with Jesus. He made the impossible possible, in all the little things I prayed for as a child. So, I believed I would receive whatever I asked of Him.
With that faith, I prayed for my mother to be healed from cancer, when I was a nine year old.
Three years passed with surgery, chemotherapy, and radiation. I watched her lose her beautiful hair, her stamina, even her vision and hearing.
But I still believed that she would be healed. I had heard several stories of people being healed, at church. And I thought to myself, “My mother will be another of those aunties testifying to the miracle-working power of God.”
But that didn’t happen. My mother passed away when I was 12. I was devastated.
I cried to God saying, “You didn’t honour her faith. You gave me false hope that she would be healed.”
I had every reason to stop believing in Christ. But I just couldn’t. No one forced me to pray or hold on to Him.
He became more real to me on the nights when I cried myself to sleep. When I had no one to turn to, I called on the One I could not see, just believing that He was listening. On days that I thought I could take no more, He would send people to watch over me, or give me just enough strength to pull through.
20 years have passed. And I’ve come to realize that there is more to Christ than receiving healing from Him.
A life with Christ isn’t about stressing over doing the right thing. Or being afraid when you make mistakes, that God might punish you.
Rather, you accept that you are flawed and will mess things up. But that He will rescue you from your self-dug pit, shake the dirt off you, and restore you.
It’s why He came to the world and died for us. So that we could live in the freedom from sin that only He can give us.
The Bible says, “We love because He first loved us.” The God of the universe loves me, even when I don’t acknowledge Him and despite my flaws, unlike human love. There is truly no greater love than this.
I’m so privileged to experience this love everyday!
