Living as a true Christian - November 18, 1991 by Sandy Ho
This is an essay I wrote in 1991, on my second year (Grade 11) at Prairie High School, for my English 20 class. I was only 16 years old. As I read this I am amazed at my own writing. I may not agree with every single theological point exposed here, but hey, I was only 16!!! :) We can all learn a lot from the faith that came from this 16 year old, during her second year in a foreign country...trying to express herself in a language not her own. Enjoy!
Living as a true Christian, by Sandy Ho
The Christian life is not easy, but it rings happiness and meaning to life. I had a friend who was a new Christian. Her family was not Christian and therefore she was under pressure. She did not understand why God gave her so many troubles with her family. We prayed often and waited. After several years, her family changed and accepted the Lord. Looking back, my friend gives thanks to God for what He has done. Now she understands why God let her pass through those hard times. He wanted her to learn how to trust in Him.
Being a Christian and living as a Christian are two different things. To become a Christian a person has to accept Jesus as his only Savior. It is very simple. However, living as a Christian is different. It is not very easy. There are two types of Christian lives: a true one and a false one. A person can be a Christian, but if he does not obey God, witness to others, love and care for others, then he is not living as a true Christian. A true Christian is one who shows love to God and to others, one that is willing to obey God and one that reflects God's character.
A Christian receives tests from God. God gives us tests to see how much we trust in Him. Tests given from God are like tests given from a teacher. Sometimes they can be short and easy, but sometimes they can be very long and hard.
There are three kinds of tests that are very common: depression, discouragement and temptation. We as humans can get depressed very easily and therefore we become discouraged. We just feel that everything is going wrong, problems do not stop coming and God seems to not care. Then we are tempted to do things that are not right in the eyes of God. Struggles with friends or with members of our families, losses of friends, problems and worries can also be some of the many other tests that God gives to Christians.
While we are facing these tests, how do we react? Often Christians ask, "Why is this happening to me?". It is natural for us to question God's workings, but continually asking why can delay the demonstration of His strength. He wants to strengthen and purify our faith. That can best happen if we get beyond asking why, and say, "What do you have for me now, Lord?"
We always forget about the purposes of tests. God allows these struggles to happen in our lives with the purpose that we will learn something from them. "For it is God who works in you to will and to act according to his good purpose" (Philippians 2:13). We always think that God gives us something impossible to reach, but He says in the Bible that, "no temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond that you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it" (I Corinthians 10:13). Those who bless God in their trials will be blest by God through their trials.
What can we do while we are passing through tests? We have to "trust in Him at all times..." (Psalm 62:8a). He is faithful and He does not fail: "His compassions fail not. They are new every morning; great is Your faithfulness (Lamentations 3:22-23). He is an unchanging God. Malachi 3:6 says, "I the Lord do not change".
Also, we have to pray. When we pray He listens to us and He works! Philippians 4:15 says, "do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God".
The last thing we can do is to be patient. "Rest in the Lord, and wait patiently for Him" (Psalm 37:7). This is one of the hardest things to do. Patience is a virtue that carries a lot of wait. All these three things go together. We need to trust, pray and wait in God always.
The results of tests can be positive or negative. At school, we can get either good or bad marks from our tests; it depends on how much effort we put into them. If we trust in God during our trials, at the end we will discover positive results -- that is, blessing.
Joy is an example of a positive result of tests. Happiness is not the same as joy. When our circumstances are comfortable and when our lives are secure, happiness simply occurs. However, joy is more than a momentary occurrence. Rather, it rises above mood and circumstances and transcends our fickle moments of elation. We do not have to go anywhere to find joy; we only have to be open to God and obey His will.
However, if we do not have faith in God and if we want to do our own will, then the results from trials will be negative. They will bring us sadness, will give us fears and will make us worry all the time. God wants us to open our hearts. He wants to help us, but if we do not do our part, nobody can help us.
Life is not easy, and it can be harder if we do not learn how to love, trust and obey God. He can give meaning to our lives. Tests are hard, but they are good for us. God uses tests to help us grow spiritually and emotionally. He cares for us and knew us before we were born. This means that He is involved and may have purposes of His own -- purposes that will bring us far greater benefits than we can imagine. Nothing happens that He is not aware of; there are no accidents with God. He is the God of love -- the God who cares. Though trials come, though fears assail us and though tests are scarcely understood, there is one truth that cannot fail -- our God is right and good. "And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him..." (Romans 8:28a)
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