Free of guilt and fear

As a child, I was taught that I had to behave in a certain way and do certain things to go to heaven. I attended church regularly and went to a parochial school through the 8th grade. Because I failed to live up to the standards of what I was taught, I lived with guilt and was afraid that I would never be able to please God enough to earn a pass into heaven.

As a teenager, feeling like I was not such a good person , made me shy and keep to myself a lot. I soon learned from others around me that drinking alcohol was a good way to loosen up and feel like I fit in. This soon led me to drinking to much and put me in situations that caused me to fear dying. My brother had been killed in an automobile accident as a result of alcohol abuse and I thought about that a lot. I was afraid that I might die too, and knew what happens to those who do not live up to the standards taught me as a kid.

After high school, I enlisted in the USAF and upon arriving at my first duty station, met someone who invited me to her church where I heard about salvation through faith in Jesus. I understood that I could never be good enough to earn my way into heaven, but that Jesus had already paid my way.

Now that I am trusting in Christ for my eternal destination, and understand that all of us have sinned and fall short of God's standard, I no longer fear dying, but have a peacefulness about it.

I am no longer the shy person that I was before my faith in Christ.

There is such peace about my eternal destiny, since I know that Christ died for my sin and has a home for me in heaven.