THE SPIRIT IN YOU
The Failing Human Heart
Article by Lama-Leah
I have been fortunate to have been raised in a Christian culture, although it took several years for me to personally decide to be a follower of Christ myself. I still find myself comparing members of the Church to Christ when people have a human nature and will fail us every time.
As a young child, I did not want to have anything to do with Christianity. From my perspective, Christians were self-righteous and judgmental. They always had something negative to say about people who had different convictions and personal beliefs, and they acted as if Christ only came for them, and not the unfortunate. I grew up being bitter towards believers, because I hadn’t really come into contact with anyone who truly loved Christ and not religion.
Middle school is when my heart started to change about my views towards Christianity. I was thirteen years old. I was quiet, insecure, and was trying to desperately find where I belong. I was struggling with severe depression and anxiety as well. I was in a new school, with nobody I considered to be a friend. One day in the late fall, a boy approached me and introduced himself. He asked if I had any friends, and I asked if he had any friends, and we both had
the same answer. Over the next few weeks, we became good friends. He was different from anyone that I had ever met in the past, and to this day, he has made a remarkable influence upon my life. He was gentle, slow to speak but quick to listen. He opened doors for girls, no matter who it was. He was a true light in not only my life but to anyone who met him.
One day I asked, “Why are you so kind to me? Nobody has ever been this nice to me before.” Without any hesitation, he said, “I am just treating you the way that Jesus would.” I was in amazement by that answer. I thought, “Could THIS possibly be what Christianity is actually about?” Over the course of that year, we become close friends. He and his family showed me continuous kindness. I started discussing spiritual matters with them, although I was not ready to fully commit to being a follower of Christ, they were always willing to listen and answer any questions that I had.
After a few years of personal struggles, with no source of hope, I became a committed Christian at the age of 17 years old, that was four years I became close friends with my very first contact, a truly set apart believer. To this day, my friend challenges me to show the love of