Saved at 8

It's not the age, it’s the heart

Everything has to have a beginning and for me, my spiritual life began right before my 8^th birthday. I remember it vividly even though I’m now 63 years old and that’s a lot of years. I remember it because it was life changing. It was at the First Baptist Church of Enid, Oklahoma. That was our church at the time. My father was in the Air Force and stationed at Vance Air Force Base. My parents wanted us to have a local church home and the First Baptist Church was it.

Even at that age, I knew something was missing
I can’t remember any particular incident that provoked this. It was just that I felt a tugging on my heart. I realized something was wrong. Even at that age I realized something was missing. There was no crisis to deal with, but I came to realize that I needed God in my life. I was aware that there was an issue on the table and I needed to make a decision. Fortunately my parents had raised me going to church regularly, they showed they loved me in the way I was treated and I had no reason to have developed a strong rebellious streak. That may have played into the fact that when I felt this stirring in my heart I had no thought of fighting against it. What happened was that all the facts and stories I had heard about for years now came alive and I realized they l had specific implications for me.

The Pastor quizzed me in front of the entire church
I guess he was under a little pressure form the congregation to make sure I knew what I was doing. I don’t know the reason but I know he asked me a series of specific questions in front of everyone. And I had to answer out loud with everyone listening. I didn’t care. I wasn’t nervous. I didn’t have doubts. I didn’t care who knew. If he felt he needed to ask questions to satisfy himself that I was making a legitimate decision that was fine with me. In fact I’m glad he did.

Here’s what he asked
“Do you believe in Jesus Christ as your  personal Savior?” I answered…Yes. “Do you realize that you are a sinner and need to be saved?”  I answered…Yes. “Do you believe that Jesus Christ was crucified for your sins?”  I answered…Yes. “Do you believe that Jesus Christ was raised from the dead on the third day?”  I answered…Yes. “Do you believe that Jesus Christ is God?”  I answered…Yes. “Do you believe that Jesus Christ has come to live in your heart and that you now have a new spiritual life?”  I answered…Yes. I actually think he asked most of the questions twice or in different ways to make sure I knew what I was saying.

I’ve never seen this done anywhere else
I’ve been to thousands of church services over the years and I have never seen a similar incident like this occur anywhere. I’ve never heard anyone even mention anything like this ever happening. But I know it happened to me and I’m glad it did. I’m sure it helped me. It made it definite. It made it clear. There was no doubt about the decision then or since. 

It made it clear for me, my age wasn’t the issue as long as I knew the facts, the issue was what was my reaction to the facts…what was the desire of my heart. And at age 8, I was ready to follow Jesus.