If anyone were to ask me, Marisa, why are you a Christian?, I would say, “Because I am simply in love with the idea of being loved unconditionally. However, the feelings are mutual—I absolutely love Christ and I would be lost without Him. He saved me when I didn’t know I needed saving.”
Truthfully, I did not learn how to truly love until I became a Christian.
I had been a Christian my whole life, but I did not become born-again until I was 14. I got baptized in the First Assembly of God. From that day, I noticed a change within myself. Before I got baptized, I was what God would label as a “murderer-at-heart.” I had a lot of bullies in high school, and I had fantasized about hurting them physically. I can even remember telling my dad that I liked the idea of it, so people could view me as crazy.
Yes, that was me.
I learned that, even just by thinking about hurting someone, I am no different than an actual murderer.
I learned a lot through Christ, and I aspire to live like Him and walk in His shoes. I learned how to love others, including my enemies. I learned how to forgive others. I learned that there is power in prayer. I also learned that I am equal to everyone in the entire universe (the beauty of humility).
As someone who is a Christian writing a testimony, I had a hard time thinking that I would be hated by the world, or more specifically, the people of this world. Regardless, I still love them. I have always longed to have friends and relationships with others (I am a sucker for romance), but I have not had much luck in finding a ton of friends. I can remember being a kid and feeling alone, especially in school. I am a bit of an old soul. I always had deeper connections with people who are older. I never really understood kids my age, so I always kept to myself. I talked to myself a lot (still do).
As I got older, my love for God grew. I have this attitude that, no matter where I am, no matter how many people there are to listen, I am not afraid. I am not afraid to talk about my Christian beliefs with others, Christian or non-Christian. And I shouldn’t be afraid. After all, Christ wasn’t afraid, so why should I? I even try and encourage other Christians to not be afraid as well.
I wrote a lot of Christian pieces in the past. I even took a poetry class and went full throttle. I knew that I’d be surrounded by sinners, but so was Christ. He even dined with sinners, healed them, or changed their ways and their hearts. Again, I am extremely passionate and brave, and I think a lot of my poetry peers would agree.
Aside from all of that, God gave me the ability to write. I am in the process of working on my very first novel.
Thank you for reading my testimony. May God be with you!
Marisa J. Bunton is a recent graduate from Florida Southwestern State College. She absolutely loves to write and aspires to become an independent self-published author. One thing she loves to do, besides writing and editing, is helping other independent writers reach success. She is currently working on her first novel.
Heart of Flesh Literary Journal 