Anthony's Salvation Story

"My faith in God has always reminded me of the hope that salvation gives me for my future and the strength to stay focused on the purpose He has for my life."

I received Jesus as my savior at the young age of six. I vividly remember watching a film at church, sitting next to my parents. The film was about the life of Jesus. As the story played out in front of me, I could sense the tension building inside my body. It was most noticeable because a lump had begun to develop in my throat. When the scene of Jesus being crucified on the cross came on screen, I couldn't take it anymore and began to cry. I wasn't crying because the images on the screen were too intense for my six-year-old mind to comprehend, but rather because I was deeply saddened that the bad things that I had done were part of the cause that Jesus had to die. I was filled with shame and guilt and knew immediately that I had to ask God for forgiveness for those bad things and ask Jesus to save me. On the surface, it's easy to ask if I truly knew the decision I was making at that age. I, myself, have thought this at times. And as I look back at over the years, all the trials that I have gone through, every success, every failure, I can see that God has walked beside me through all of that.

So, it isn't really a question of "how" I could understand such things as a six-year-old boy, but "why" would God choose to show Himself, in such a real and powerful way to me at that age? The answer to that question that I have come back to time and time again is that God has had a purpose for my life since before I was born. He had a purpose for me when I responded to the Holy Spirit at six years old. He had a purpose for me when I was a teenager, getting into trouble and driving my parents crazy. He had a purpose for me when I questioned His presence in my life during Bible School. He had a purpose for me when I've asked for something I thought I really needed but later realized His non-answer was the best answer. And here's the hope...He will still have a purpose for me when I go through a storm that I have yet to see coming. If God is faithful to see me through every stage of my life and all the struggles that were included, then I know that His plan for my eternity in Heaven with Him is better than anything I could ever imagine. My hope, my future, my eternity is secure in Jesus.