Gareth (Politics, 2004-07)
I don’t come from a Christian background and grew up antagonistic to Christianity, believing that it was a quaint idea with no basis in reality. Churches were irrelevant places where old people went and the one Christian I knew at sixth form seemingly confirmed my prejudice that all Christians were air heads, obsessed with a mythical Jesus, who I did not care for.
When I came to Nottingham University, I disliked the Christian Union (CU). They struck me as rather odd; constantly offering free lunches, wearing hoodies that advertised their presence and insisting on flyering me far more often than I would have liked. Using my best evasive moves, I was able to avoid any prolonged CU contact in my first year.
It was somewhat amusing then when I sought out the CU at the start of my second year!
During the summer of 2005, out of curiosity, I decided to see for myself just who this Jesus chap was and ordered some history books on the matter written by both Atheists and Christians. The first book I read was, The Case for Christ by Lee Strobel, this opened my eyes to the historical evidence for the Biblical Christ, and was so much more logical, consistent and fair than anything I read from an atheist perspective. For the first time it made me realise that those pesky Christians were in fact onto something, and it spurred me on to research more as to just who Jesus was and why he came.
I sought out the CU and was stunned to hear that I was leading a life that was in rebellion against God; that rebellion demands punishment; that God sent his only Son, Jesus, to die for my rebellion so that I didn’t have to face the punishment myself. At the same time, I was piecing together in my mind just who Jesus was and I remember the morning profoundly when I finally realised who Jesus truly was.
Jesus is my saviour from sin, the Son of God, and the man who demands that we follow him for the rest of our lives. On the 12th November 2005, I took up my cross and followed Jesus. (See Mark 8:34-37)
Since then? Jesus has changed my life forever, I have complete joy in the fact that Jesus died for the sins that I had committed so that I would no longer be an enemy to God but his friend. Who is Jesus? He is my Lord and my Saviour.