Why are you a Christian?
Mary Pytches shares her story of finding a reason for living
This is a question I love to respond to, especially when the questioner is searching for answers. I recently heard a tragic story which reminded me of why I became a Christian. It was of a young man who rang a friend to say ‘goodbye’ before he killed himself. He told his friend that he could find no purpose to life.
When I was 18 years old I worked in a tax office. I found it the most boring job ever! At that time my life had no meaning or purpose to it either. I would feel so depressed on a Monday morning that I could barely get myself out of bed. Desperation set me on a quest to find some answers.
My search ended one night in a church in Oxford. I had been taken there by a friend. For the first time that I could remember, I heard that Jesus wanted to be a part of my life; that he stood outside the door of my heart and was patiently knocking, wanting to come in. I knew immediately that I had found the answer to the emptiness in my heart. That night I asked Jesus to come into my life and become my friend and saviour.
The next morning I awoke to go to work. The job had not changed. It was still unbelievably boring. But I discovered that I had changed overnight. My life now had a purpose. God had a plan for me. Instead of beginning the week depressed, I began to feel excited by the prospect of fulfilling God’s destiny for me over the days and the weeks to come.
I became a Christian because I needed a cause to live for. Though I have been a Christian for many years, that original sense of purpose has never completely left me. Sometimes it has grown a little dim, especially when my children were small. I wondered if I would ever be able to pray again without interruption, or do anything more meaningful than change nappies!
What I gradually discovered, after that initial buzz had worn off, was that fulfilling God’s purpose came out of a relationship with him; a relationship that Jesus had made possible by his death on the cross. Only as I kept close to my Heavenly Father could I discover, day by day, what his will was for me. I also had to discover what talents God had given me, and then to develop and use them for his honour and glory.
God’s purpose still excites me, and I am still pursuing his presence, but what is also exciting me more and more is Paul’s statement in his letter to the Colossians: ‘Christ in you, the hope of glory’ (Col 1:27). We don’t just have a present filled with meaning and purpose, but ahead is a glory which far outweighs everything we have experienced before. So the reason I am a Christian is because I wanted my life to have meaning, but also because I am looking forward to an incredible eternity.
