As a young child I was basically forced (sorry mom) to believe in christianity, it wasn’t my religion, it wasn’t something that I really wanted. I got baptized because my parents wanted me to get baptized, my brother Zach and my sister Sydney also got baptized, it was really cool. I agreed to get baptized because I really wanted to honor my Mom and Dad but I had no clue why. I finally understand.
I grew up going to church with my parents because it was their religion and I wanted to honor them. I didn’t believe in christianity, I didn’t know what I believed in, you could say I was in an in between period, in between my wants and desires and in between what God is planting in me. I didn’t know it but the religion that my parents I thought forced on me was slowly working in me. I finally understand.
I spent all of my school time in a christian school, another thing that was kind of forced on me (again, sorry mom). I was the bad kid in school, which didn’t help me because the things I did affected me big time. The first 5 grades in every bible class I cheated, I cheated because I didn’t want to learn anything about christianity because it was my parents religion, not mine. Whenever a bible verse came up I never read it, at church I paid 0 attention, whenever someone said anything about christianity I shut my ears and basically hardened my heart towards it. School didn’t help me in my walk to understand my religion, it still wasn’t my parents religion but something I wanted to make up to spite them. I was focused on wanting a relationship with people instead of something that could give me a much better feeling, God. I finally understand.
As I continued to grow up my family started to kind of fall apart spiritually, we stopped going to church for a few years, they wanted to find a church but the church started to feel like a boring task that they “had” to go to, I don’t know my parents thoughts but that’s what I think they were going through. Those few years were probably my worst, I struggled with a porn and lust addiction, I got in a lot of trouble because of it. My parents knew that something had to change or I would end up down a path where I could never come back from. They probably thought that whatever they did would help me but the only thing that helped me and the rest of my family was to get us back into the church. I finally understand.
A church that my parents had been looking at popped up, Church of the Highlands. We were at the very first service, back left 2 row up, I was 4 seats in. I remember this exactly because this is where my parents religion started to become my own and I was realizing it. I go a few months being a 2% christian and then one of the services a guy that I had seen a few times walks up to me, “Hey my name is Nathan Owen I am with Highlands students, what is your name?” I responded with my name. “Hey Luke, how would you like to come to this thing called city group? It is a huge small group where students all over Huntsville get together. I can’t wait to see you there.”
I finally understand. All of the stuff that I just wrote were things that shaped and molded me whether I liked it or not. God was putting so many things in front of me how could I ignore it? Ignore Him? Ignore the beautiful life that He wanted for me. The life that would completely honor Him and completely honor every human on the face of the earth. A life that would honor my parents, a life that would honor my siblings, a life that would honor my friends, a life that would honor the stranger that I meet, a life that would honor the people I don’t like, a life that would be something special.
I finally understand
