I was born and raised in Sydney, the son of Malaysian-Chinese migrants. My father believed strongly in hard work, family, and no god. My mother had dabbled with Christianity when she studied in England, but lived without Jesus in her life, until a chance encounter in my teenage years. To my surprise, she became a Christian when I was 14, but, being a teenager, I did my best to ignore whatever spiritual experience she might be having.
Don't take that to mean I didn't believe in God, or at least, some god, out there. The world made a lot more sense to me with someone in control. My life has simply had far too many coincidences and close calls for me to believe in pure chance.
But it took me a long while to pay attention. I had had scripture taught to me in school, but all that stuck in my head were facts. Knowing about God is a far different thing to knowing God.
The big difference came between my first and second years at Uni. I had failed three out of four subjects at Uni (as a direct consequence of skipping classes and drinking at the pub); and that stopped my happy-go-lucky stroll through life. I spent that Summer asking big questions: what am I really doing? Why am I here? Why am I really studying at university? Where can I find meaning in life?
I returned to university, resolving to "be good". I found myself at the weekly Bible talks at lunchtime, and hiding up the back, I soaked up everything like a sponge. Three months later, I was confronted with the question: Am I a Chistian? Do I really believe all this stuff? And I surprised myself by answering yes: I believed the Bible was true, I believed Jesus died for my sins and rose to new life. Suddenly, I had meaning and purpose and hope in this life, and everything made so much more sense.
I've never regretted becoming a Christian. Following Jesus, the world is brighter, the future is clearer, and He has blessed me immeasurably. I hope that you can come to know God too.
