My goal was to always be the toughest player.

Julian’s Story:

Before I received Christ as my savior, my attitude was to fight for everything I wanted.  Nothing was going to be given to me and no one was going to look out for me.  This made me extremely self-centered.

My life revolved around my sense of pride for doing everything on my own.  I got my pride from my success in sports.  My goal was to always be the toughest player.  All the work I put in paid off, and I had done it by myself.  From my point of view this life was very fulfilling, but there always seemed to be something missing.  I always needed more.  I attempted to fill this hole with everything I could think of, but I was never satisfied.

My freshman year of High School I was convinced to go on a mission trip.  My intent was to do my community service and be done with it for the rest of my high school career.  I had no desire to know God and didn’t believe in him.  I had also never been to church consistently.  Before I received Christ I thought I had my life all together.  I didn’t think I struggled with anything.

On that first mission trip I got a glimpse of what Christianity really was.  Though I was extremely skeptical, I had gotten a taste of the Holy Spirit.  I knew what was missing in my life.  Because I was not raised going to church, I didn’t know anything about Christianity.  The next two years my two best friends invited me to church and youth group.  This truly saved my life because I was still living for myself and questioning the faith at every turn.  Thanks to the persistent discipleship of my pastor, I learned more about true Christianity.  It was nothing like I had grown up thinking it was.  The Christianity I experienced was genuine and true.  At this point I knew my life was broken and backwards, however, I was still trying to make my life perfect all by myself.

Finally in my junior year of High School, I asked Christ to enter my heart.  I didn’t have to fix my life or do everything right to be accepted, Jesus met me where I was.  It was then that I saw how empty my life truly was without Christ.  My sense of pride and my athletic accomplishment meant absolutely nothing in the long run.  I didn’t have it all together.  When I accepted Jesus, I finally had something that would last forever and for the first time in my life I was completely satisfied.

Since becoming a true believer I am no longer living for myself and my pride.  Though I still fall short in every aspect of my life, I am now living for God and the people in my life.  I am now motivated to live by the word of God.  I know this is the only thing that gives me real life.  All I need is my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.  I don’t need anything more.

 

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