Love at First Sex? Finding Purity in a Sex-Crazed WorldParaugs

Tax Collector (salvation)

Let’s back up in the story. Yesterday I told you about succumbing to temptation instead of trusting Jesus for all that I needed. Let’s go back to the summer before. It was nearing the end of an average, hot summer. School would be starting back in a week or two. My sister-in-law called me up to tell me her church’s youth group was at summer camp. They were already half way through the week and she wanted to go and visit for the last few days. She invited myself and a friend to come along. We gladly said “YES!” as we were bored looking for things to do.

We arrived in time for the salvation sermon. This was the big push before the last day of camp, to hopefully bring kids into a relationship with Jesus. I didn’t know this. All I knew was that I had never heard this before. I can have a relationship with Jesus, the son of God, and He has come to save me from my sins? I had been to church a few times before, but I had never heard it all so plainly laid out. I was afraid to go down before literally thousands of kids to accept Christ. The next day, I was talking with other girls who felt the same. They wanted this relationship, but were also scared the night before. We decided to go into a quiet room and pray for salvation together. From that moment on, Jesus had his hand on my life, and He wasn’t about to let me go.

I had my Levi (Matthew) moment. Jesus simply said, “Follow me,” and Levi got up and left everything behind to follow. I didn’t think about any consequences of following Jesus. I just did. As a young teen, I didn’t really have anything to leave behind. Levi left behind his very profitable profession to follow Jesus. The next thing he did was have a big gathering at his house with Jesus as his guest. I assume he was excited and wanted others to know Jesus too. I remember this feeling as well. I returned home from camp and wanted to know if my parents, my friends, and everyone else knew Jesus. Some said they did, others didn’t. I was excited to tell them what I knew!

In a little less than a year, I went from excited new Christ follower to falling into my hardest sin pattern to break. Did Jesus love me in both moments? YES. Did He want to break my sin pattern and free me from it? YES! Jesus’ words from the end of Levi’s conversion story ring out in my head; “It is not those who are well who need a physician, but those who are sick.I have not come to call the righteous but sinners to repentance.” I needed the Great Physician more than ever! I needed Him to call me to repentance. He did that day at summer camp, and saved me forever as His. He would call me to repentance again and again as I stumbled through this sin pattern. If you have accepted Jesus, He’s never gonna let you go. He’s never going to stop chasing after you. He loves you and wants to give you true freedom. Will you let Him?