I Did That
Jun 18, 2023 | by The Fellowship
Have you ever been proud of something you accomplished? When looking back at events and markers in your life, have you just been proud to say, “I did that.” Career accomplishments, family milestones, financial success -- all can be good and perhaps worthy, but did you really do all that?
For many years in my life, I was proud to tell people of my accomplishments. Like being the first in my family history to go to college … having success in my professional career ... even starting up a small computer company that grew into a $36 million annual revenue venture. I did that. I have been married for 41 years and raised two great kids who have accepted Jesus and are productive members of society. Ya, I did that!
To top it off, I was not raised in a Christian home. Sure, we went to church occasionally on Christmas Eve or maybe Easter. But there were no Bible lessons, no prayer time, no summer Bible camps in my youth. You see, I accepted Christ while in college, all by myself, just through reading the Bible and asking questions. All by myself. You see, I did that!
I had the usual questions about life and its meaning. Is this all there is to life? Eat, sleep, then die? But a friend encouraged me to read the Bible for answers. I thought, Sure, I will give it a try. But after a few chapters in Genesis, I gave up. However, my friend suggested that I needed to read the book of John. I thought that was weird since it is toward the back of the Bible, but hey, I decided to give it a try.
So while off on a summer job during college, I began reading John in my Gideon’s Bible. I so distinctly remember getting to the 15th chapter and accepting the gift of salvation from Jesus -- for the forgiveness of my sin and the hope for eternal life. For many years, I was quite proud of that conversion. You see, I did it! None of this growing up in a Christian family culture. No Christian summer camp. No Sunday School. No church. I did it myself. How proud I was to tell people of my self-made conversion story with no outside help.
It is so easy to have this opinion of one’s self without recognizing God the Creator, the One who has poured out His grace to make it all happen. But in the book of Daniel, we learn that all who walk in pride, the Lord is able to humble (Daniel 4: 37). He patiently began to teach me through the Scriptures and sermons that He is the Almighty and in control of my life. Every blessing, every accomplishment, and most of all, my salvation – all of them are gifts from God. Even before I knew who Jehovah God was, I believe He planted the seed of salvation in my life. It was God who opened the doors for me to go to college. It was God who arranged the fortuitous meeting of my lovely wife. It was God who blessed us with two beautiful kids through private adoption.
As we learn to lean in and follow Christ, I certainly have experienced how gracious God is and how unfathomable His love! I humbly acknowledge God’s hand in the career events in my life and how He has blessed me with my family. How clear it has become that without God’s incredible gifts to me, I would not have accomplished anything of value. I would be an empty soul still asking questions like, “Is this all there is to life?”
Now my mission is to tell others about the goodness of Jehovah God and the love of Christ. NO matter our circumstances, God is faithful. He constantly provides in simple ways and showers His love over us through daily events, and most of all, He gives us redemption and the forgiveness of our sin through Jesus Christ.
So now I do not say: “I did that.” Instead, my focus is on praising God for who He is and how He blesses me … while looking for ways that God can use me to bless others and to share with them this wonderful life we call redeemed.
R.C.
This is what the Lord says: “Let not the wise man boast of his wisdom or the
strong man boast of his strength or the rich man boast of his riches,
but let him who boasts boast about this: that he understands and knows me,
that I am the Lord, who exercises kindness, justice and righteousness on the earth,
for in these I delight, declares the Lord.”
Jeremiah 9:23-24