Hello, my name is Sharon
Jeong, and today I’m here to declare what the Lord Jesus Christ has done for my
soul.
As some of you know, I
was born into a Jesus-loving home. This in itself was God’s grace on me. From
the very beginning, He was sowing the seeds of the gospel into my heart.
But despite being born
into such ideal circumstances, I was still blind to the truth of the gospel. In
fact, growing up in church just made me prideful. I foolishly believed that
having bible knowledge and generally agreeing with Christian morals made me
righteous. And so I justified living like an unbeliever, fearing no punishment
for sin, and declaring myself holier than others through it all. Even still,
the Lord gave me a heart to trust in His gospel. Though I didn’t actually understand
it yet, it was His mercy that carried me through those years of paying
lip-service to God.
Freshmen
year in college, I think I read the bible for the very first time. I had read
passages here and there for 18 years. But in that first year away from home,
the Holy Spirit began to open my ears to hear God’s truth. I would go through
passages like Phil 2:13 and read that it was God who worked in me both to will
and to work for His good pleasure. And my heart would resound with the truth of
God’s sovereignty over us, amazed that what I knew to be true in my life was
all written down and explained in this book. God’s Word became so sweet to me
from that point on.
Despite
finally hearing the good truth of the gospel, I was still a self-righteous person.
And so God graciously led me to see my sin. Looking into my soul felt much like
peering over a gaping hole. And I saw that every aspect of my personality, to
my very core, was made up of pride, selfishness, laziness, and above all else
idolatry of myself. In making myself to be God, I had lived an entire life of
rebellion against the Lord who I claimed to honor as King of Kings.
One
hymn I’ve read recently, resounded with this discovery of my sin:
Twas you, my sins, my cruel sins,
His chief tormentors were;
Each of my crimes became a nail,
And unbelief the spear.
You
see, all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. But we don’t have to
be in despair, for the gospel doesn’t only reveal to us our sin, it is also
tells us of the sweet, immeasurable grace that God has for us in making a way
for salvation:
God
Almighty in His astounding compassion sent Jesus Christ, the eternal Son of God
who has been on the throne since the beginning of time, to earth. And he lived
the perfect life and died on the cross as a spotless Lamb, in our place. He
came in love, to redeem undeserving sinners, to the praise of His glorious name.
My
dear friends, see the sin that had enslaved me, and repent for your own life of
rebellion in unbelief against God. And understand, that to be saved from the
eternal death we deserve, you need but look to Christ. See what He has accomplished
for you on that cross! Believe in
the Lord Jesus who has died in your place, and has resurrected to promise us
eternal life with Him.
-
I
have been buried with Christ as under the water, and have come up born again. My
sin has been covered by the righteousness of Christ, and now I get to gaze upon
the beauty of the Lord for all of eternity. As God continues to sanctify this
undeserving child, I live now as a new creature, henceforth looking toward
heavenly things and eagerly awaiting the coming of the Lord.
