After my Conversion from Atheism

 To continue from my introduction...

Now what....now that I believe?? That was my question, probably the biggest question I have ever asked myself. Do I need to find a church as soon as possible? Do I need to call someone, but who? Should I dash out and buy a Bible? Maybe do a Google search?

I decided to go with the Google search - “How do I receive Jesus as my Lord and Savior?” Plenty of results appear with different prayers to say. Basically, you need to believe in Jesus, and then say it in whichever way feels most meaningful to you. This is usually a personal and private step where a person accepts Jesus into their heart and life.

Romans 10: 9-10 - Because if you confess with your mouth “Jesus is Lord” and in your heart you have faith that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. Trusting with the heart leads to righteousness, and confessing with the mouth leads to salvation.

So that is what I did, I accepted Jesus as my Lord and as my Savior. And then, according to scripture, Jesus immediately resides in me and I in Him. I become a new creation in Christ. A new creation! I gained my salvation at that moment. But what does this all mean? It was all so difficult for me to fathom, difficult to grasp. But after much prayer - “Lord please give me wisdom and understanding’’ - prayers along these lines - I received a small personal revelation that explained this situation to me perfectly. Thank you, Lord, for teaching me so I can understand and gain wisdom.

Here is what I perceived. When we accept Jesus as our personal Lord and Savior, it is as though we enter into something like a “marriage” covenant with Him. An old fashioned style marriage were the couple takes their vows seriously and stay together for better or worse. And as the Bible says, the two become one. That’s where the He resides in me and I in him part can be understood...we are now one. Jesus, our Lord, and Savior, will stand by us through thick and thin, whatever we do or don’t do, for better or for worse. He may not always be pleased with what we do but He will always be there for us (once we have gained salvation it is ours to keep).

We can either make this a good marriage or a bad marriage, that choice is ours. If we want it to be a good marriage then we will want to please Him by doing things that make him happy, for example, by following his commandments, communicating with Him through prayer, and listening to Him by reading his Word. If we want it to be a not-so-good marriage, then we can claim our salvation and continue living our old lifestyle. Regardless of whether the marriage is good or bad, we will forever be bound to one another. Hence the “once saved always saved” notion. We don’t earn our salvation by our good deeds, but, if we do want a good marriage, a good covenant relationship with Jesus, then we will change our lifestyle to accommodate and embrace Jesus’ teachings into our daily lives.

I would like to share Julian of Norwich’s idea of Jesus residing in the soul. Julian of Norwich, a spiritual mystic from the 1300s, lived as an Anchorite in England. An Anchorite is an extreme version of being a hermit. The person, either male or female, lived in a small room attached to a church. The room had one window opening into the church and another window opening into the street. This way the person could pray with people passing by, and offer spiritual advice, and also participate in Mass.

Julian of Norwich had, what appears to be, a near-death experience where she had several visions or showings. One of these showings was about the soul. This is what she wrote (yes! a woman from the 14th century actually wrote a short text and a long text describing her visions, AND it can be purchased today as one book) - “And then the Lord opened my spiritual eyes and showed me my soul in the middle of my heart. I saw the soul as large as if it were an endless world and as if it were a holy kingdom; and from the properties I saw in it I understood that it is a glorious city. In the center of that city sits our Lord Jesus, God and man....He sits in the soul, in the very center, in peace and rest.“

How beautiful life is when we accept Jesus into our life, heart, and soul!! “Happy are those who trust in the Lord, who rely on the Lord. They will be like trees planted by the streams, whose roots reach down to the water. They won’t fear drought when it comes; their leaves will remain green. They won’t be stressed in the time of drought or fail to bear fruit.” - Jeremiah 17:7-8

Scripture References: -

Acts 4:12

Ephesians 2:8-9

Acts 16: 30-31

Matthew 19:25-26

Genesis 2: 24

2 Corinthians 5:17

John 15:1-11

Romans 8:9

Deuteronomy 31:6

Further reading:-

Julian of Norwich Selections from Revelations of Divine Love— Annotated & Explained. Annotation by Mary C. Earle

Anchorite Traditions of Medieval Europe, Edited by Liz Herbert McAvoy