People often say this to me.. you are so blessed to be born into a Christian family, you won't get to be persecuted by your parents like we do, your parents encouraged you to go to church, served in church, you also have a good role model.
Hmm frankly speaking I disagree with this, to me I feel that being born into a Christian family is hardly a blessing, I won't go as far as to call it a curse but I feel that if given a range I will put it more towards a curse. Not that I don't have God-fearing parents, I do and I thank them for bringing me up with the right kind of values and beliefs that are based from the bible. This, I believed has indeed cause me to be free from alot of problems that would be caused if I was not brought up in such a way.
However there are always two sides to a coin. The downside of this, to me and most probably other secondhand, or more generation Christians is that we sometimes take things for granted and this might lead to us not really valuing God, and He is definitely not our first love. There is an English saying, "Familiarity breeds contempt." This is when we become so familiar with God that we become disrespectful.
The other reason is since Christianity was something that I was brought up to, I did not really have a personal relationship with God from the start because I was doing things through routine rather than having a personal conviction and knowing the full meaning of doing it.
When I was in my early teens, it became so meaningless that I even questioned about why I was even a Christian. Sure I believe that God existed but so what?? That was when I started rebelling, thinking that christianity was a total waste of time, but strangely no matter what I did to satisfy myself with material things and enjoyment, there was this emptiness inside me which could not be filled up. That was when I started searching for other forms of religions to fill the void. This went on for close to one and a half years. But God is faithful even though I wasn't. He brought me back to His arms again.
Christianity, to me, is a relationship rather than a religion. It is like having a relationship with a friend except that with God it is so much better. He gives us unconditional love. He loves us when we were still sinners. He gave His precious son for us. What more can I ask for? Of course, being a Christian is not a bed of roses, but then in every difficult situation is an opportunity to see His wondrous miracles working through. If life was to be smooth sailing I think I would not have enjoyed it this much. Maybe some people will think I am crazy by saying this but it is not that I enjoy the time when I am down, but when I get up I become a much better and stronger person. It is such a thrill everytime when that happens knowing that with God ALL things are possible. With Him on your side who or what can be against you??
Not that I am already perfect. Every single day is a battle between my ways and His will but slowly and surely I am learning, I still have a long way to go. But I continue running this race of life and with His help I am sure I will succeed