Madeline Kroeker

Genesis 1:1 “In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.” God created man to be perfect. Man was without sin, clean and spotless before God, but Adam and Eve sinned (Genesis 3), which caused men to then be imperfect, and in need of a savior to pay atonement for the total depravity we are in. We need Jesus Christ. We cannot save ourselves from our sin, it is Jesus’ death that brings us life through him (Ephesians 2:1-10).

I was born into a Christian home that taught this to me, and when I was three years old, I prayed with my parents to have Jesus come into my heart. Romans 10:9 “because if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.” I have been blessed to have my dad as a pastor for most of my life and to have a long family history full of men and women who were strong Christians. They have given me an incredible foundation, and my mom and dad have helped me navigate many questions I have had. However, because my dad is a pastor, in my sin, I felt the need to be the Pastor’s kid who knew everything and had an answer for everyone. I knew the books of the Bible, most of the stories in the Bible, and would proudly stand up on the stage reciting memory verses at the end of the year showing off my work. I would “do it all,” but being a Christian never seemed real to me. Then I joined the young adult Bible study in my church, studying Revelation.

I invited my best friend to come, and my best friend joined and brought her boyfriend. Through her boyfriend asking some questions about God’s word, I realized we had very different beliefs about what the Bible said. Then began a long process of reading my Bible and talking with my parents about these questions, and talking to her about these questions. I began to lose her as a friend, and her family left our church. Through the Holy Spirit giving me glimmers of grace, I was strengthened in the Lord. In Sunday School I was reminded of how great God is, and in my Bible readings I was reminded of how God works all things together for good.

Although this time was painful, I would go through the pain of losing my best friend over an issue about God again and again. Through God testing me, he grew me in my faith to now be stronger in what the Bible says. That God is over all (Psalm 8), control of all (John 16:33), and is sovereign in all (Ephesians 1:4-5). Through the quiet moments in Church, Sunday School, and daily devotions, God has worked in me to come to him. I have “known” the Bible backwards and forwards because that was what I thought was needed to be a pastor’s daughter, but I now know the author, who made me a child of God. A child of him who died on the cross so that I may have eternal life. John 14:6, “ Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”