Grace Sumner
Grace Sumner's Story
God wants to hang out with me!
Upon receiving Christ at a young age, I did not understand God not only want us to go to heaven. He wants a deep, loving, and personal relationship.
Story Tags
Relationship, Spiritual growth
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I started going to church at a young age, about 3, I think. Some of my earliest memories are of church. I remember learning Bible stories and lots of songs, and I loved every minute of it. I remember watching my older brother get baptized when I was 5 or 6. He seemed different around that time, like he knew something I didn't. I decided I wanted to be baptized too, so I asked my brother about it. He told me I had to be "saved." Saved from what? I decided I had better go to a higher source, my mother. She explained it in simple terms. Because all people do bad things, we are separated from God, as if we are going the wrong way on a road. If we're separated from God, we can't go to heaven. But because no one is good enough, and God loves us so much, He made away for us to be with him: Jesus. All I had to do to be "saved" was to tell God that I believe in what Jesus did for me and that I want to accept his gift and let Him become a part of my life. It made perfect sense to me, so that is exactly what I did.
I know that I fully understood the decision I made, but what I did not grasp was that God wanted a relationship, and not just in the future in heaven, but now. As I grew up, I learned a lot from church and my mom. I was an expert in Bible trivia and was regarded as "the good kid." But to be quite honest, my relationship with God was very shallow. God was kind of like a magic genie. I'd go to him when I or someone I cared about needed something. He wasn't a constant presence (or so I thought). I was definitely stuck in that "man upstairs" mentality.
In ninth grade, things began to change. Our church got a new youth minister (Jeff). He was different than the previous two, who tended to focus on either the intellectual side of Christianity or the "fire and brimstone" message. Jeff talked about knowing God, and keeping him in every aspect of my life. He took us to several conferences and mission trips, where I learned and grew even more. I learned that there was more to being a Christian than praying every once in a while and doing "churchy" things. God wants to be part of my daily life. God wants to hang out with me! The thought of that just blows my mind! He was there all that time, and I was basically ignoring Him. All I had to do was reach out to Him, and learn to listen. Now it feels like He is by my side all the time, not just at church. I am so much happier, and I can't wait to see the works God continues to do in my life.