10 Things I Wish I Knew As A New Believer: The Community Responds
I was thinking about the things I know now as a believer of over 32 years, which I wish I had known when I was a new believer. I intended to write an article about it (still may) but decided to throw the question out to the community to see what answers came back. I was pleasantly surprised and edified: Here`s what they said.
- God is not only able to save me but also to keep me. I spent a lot of years thinking my ability to walk uprightly was the result of my willpower and strength. As a result, I bought into the “theology of boundaries” as opposed to the fruit of the Spirit—self-control.
- The ultimate goal of my life should be the glory of God and the good of mankind. I spent too much time justifying my selfish, self-centred ambitions with, “The Lord said…” There is nothing like a “word” from God to excuse ungodly behaviour.
- I don’t do missions; I must be missional. Too much of my “Christian” experience was event-driven. I go to church. I go on mission trips. When your Christian experience is based on events, it becomes easy to compartmentalize- nothing breeds hypocrisy like compartmentalization. I can design my calendar to remind me when I need to be Christian and when I can close the box. It’s not something I do; it’s who I am. It’s not about participation but transformation.
- I wish I knew that my relationship with God is personal and unique and does not have to look like anyone else’s. I spent so much time going to so many different churches, mimicking different prayer styles, etc., thinking that I had to pray or look like certain people to be a “powerful” Christian.
- I wish I had been able to differentiate “relationship” from “religion” from the beginning. There is a big difference. I would have spent less time on the religion part at the beginning.
- I wish I had known that my actions don’t make me a better person or Christian than another person. God is concerned about my heart, and pride does not please him.
- God is the one who can keep me from stumbling. I was very legalistic, black and white and fire and brimstone. I’ve learned that self-righteousness is a real thing, and it caused me to appear to love Jesus outwardly but inwardly become a Pharisee.
- A lot of my Christianity ended up being fear-driven, afraid of what people might think if I do, say, or wear this. I’ve learned that it is important to have a revelation of dying daily and living by faith in Christ.
- I’ve learned God does not operate in a box. I had these do`s and donts about God. Some of the greatest blessings of my life have been obeying God when He has called me to make difficult decisions that seemed untraditional.
- That I am the righteousness of God in Christ Jesus; that God loves me, flaws and all, and the Holy Spirit is truly with me always.
I want to give a special shout-out to June, Dario, Kamille and Alicia, among others, who shared their thoughts. Join the conversation and share your thoughts about what you wish you knew in the comments section of this article. We learn best in community!
