Life Begins with Jesus

Life Begins With Jesus
by Marilyn Mackenzie
January 22, 2002





With Jesus, life begins anew, no matter when we choose to ask Him to be our Lord and Savior. Some folks think kids aren't equipped and ready to ask Jesus into their hearts, not until they've "come of age." My own life and experiences prove differently, at least in my mind.

My aunt and her family attended a Baptist church in Pittsburgh, PA. My aunt did the bulletin each week and the newsletter each month, when mimeograph machines were used.

I remember visiting that church when there were special events or when I was staying with my aunt, and I remember feeling so "at home" there. Even now, I can close my eyes and picture the big pipe organ and remember experiencing God there.

What I don't remember is a story my mom told me just last year about that church. It may explain my feeling of knowing God's presence there.
I was only three and my cousin Jimmy was four. We were playing in the nursery while my mom helped my aunt with the bulletin. They finished and began to panic when we weren't in the nursery.

They found us in the sanctuary, me with a big grin on my face and excitedly explaining that we had "seen Jesus", and my cousin with a look of astonishment. He never talked about the experience. My mom and aunt looked around the church to see if there was any "man" there. The pastor was out of town and the custodian was off that day. There was no evidence that anyone else had actually been there, but I was convinced I had seen Jesus.

We went to a Methodist church. Sunday school materials in the Methodist church in the 50's and 60's left much to be desired. My brothers and sisters learned how to color.

Fortunately, my Sunday school teacher refused to use the lessons, but taught strictly from the Bible. Most kids thought the classes were quite boring, but I loved that teacher and that class.

My teacher also was in charge of children's church. Each Sunday, we went to children's church first, then joined the congregation just before the pastor's sermon. Each Sunday our leader briefly explained the plan of salvation (I'm positive that wasn't part of the Methodist curriculum for kids either) and we sang "Come into my heart Lord Jesus."

One Sunday when I was about seven years old, I asked the Lord to forgive my sin and "come into my heart" and be my own personal Lord and Savior. As I entered the church to hear the pastor speak, I asked quietly, "Where are you Jesus?" And what seemed to me to be a booming, yet still loving voice, answered "I'm right here Marilyn." I looked around, but it appeared that the others around me hadn't heard, and I knew then that Jesus was definitely my own personal Savior! I felt a warmth in my heart and the sun seemed to be shining extra brightly through the stained glass window at the front of the church.

I never announced to anyone what had happened to me that day. I think I thought everyone had done as I had done. But I asked for and received a Bible from my parents, a King James Version, the only one available. And I read the entire Bible through three times before I reached my teen years, and understood it probably more than I sometimes do even today. Oh for the understanding of a child...

I suddenly paid more attention to the pastor, and knew he wasn't preaching what I read in the Bible. I told my mother once driving home that the pastor was wrong in teaching that there was no heaven or hell. (He said we lived our own heaven and hell here on earth. New Age?) Mom laughed and said that God was obviously blessing our church, because with this pastor our church was growing. The young couple's class my parents attended had grown from about six couples to forty couples. And worship attendance was so much that they had to add on to the sanctuary. Still, as a child, I knew some of the things he said just weren't what I was reading.

We found out when I was 12 that this pastor was leaving and moving to New York. My friends' parents all insisted their children rush into confirmation classes so they could join the church under the popular pastor before he left.
My mother asked me if I wanted to do the same, and I told her I wanted to wait.

Our new pastor was an older man, and his preaching sounded much more like what I was reading in God's word. I was confirmed with him as my teacher at age 13, and I loved the classes! He made us memorize so many things from the Bible and our book of worship and our hymnals and then explain what they meant in our own words. I learned so much from that man.

The church didn't grow with him, though. Instead of preaching what the rich members wanted to hear, he preached the truth, talking about sin and tithing and things the other pastor wouldn't touch.

At the age of seven, my life really began. I had been such a shy child, but knowing that my friend Jesus was with me every step of the way made me have a bit more courage in relating to people and in school. My life truly began to change.

I can look back at my life and see exactly when I rushed ahead and proceeded without seeking God's will. I can see the times when I made decisions, unwisely, and then asked God's blessings on my messes. And I can see the other times when I prayed and sought His will and direction before acting.

What a different life I might have had if I had remembered to talk with God first about all things.....

I CAN Do All Things!  (ASR) Each day, I seek His will and ask that He use me in some small way. #463777 by Kenzie

The Real Survivor  (E) I've survived because God has been the center of my life, my all and my everything! #320006 by Kenzie

Delight in His Commands  (E) Some days I wake up just having to write something for or about God - like today. #308882 by Kenzie

Am I Strange Enough?  (ASR) Many are the times I've asked God to bless my messes. #377459 by Kenzie