Written by Kevin Wu, Art by Jeff Yeh
My name is Kevin Wu and I am 18 years old. I grew up in an average Asian American home with a family of seven. I came to know Jesus and embrace Him as my lord and savior at the age of 15, and this is my story:
My life was filled with cravings for intimacy and romance. I always longed for intimacy and a perfect relationship, whether it be from my parents or from a future girlfriend. However, when I heard that Jesus Christ had died for my sins out of raw love and passion to be reconciled with me, I knew I had found the joy of my life. Instantly, I tasted the fellowship I had with God, and pursued it from that day on.
Throughout my daily life, I would constantly enjoy praying to God. I would enjoy the fact that at any given time in my day, I could look up into the sky and thank Jesus for dying on the cross for me. At times when I would fail in everyday activities, I would be reminded that God loved me anyways and that was enough. God would constantly remind me how much He loved me. At times, when I would sin against Him, by the end of the day, I still knew God was pursuing me. For God is a God of love, and who could be better at romancing a runaway child like myself back into His arms?
In my heart, Jesus had become my highest joy and passion. However, one thing that I believe my mentors in life had left out when telling me about the love of Christ was this: I am a criminal against God! The reason that mankind needed a savior as great and almighty as Jesus, was because we, as sinners, were so terribly sinful and had fallen short of the glory of God. Even after I had fallen in love with Jesus, I never knew how heavy my sin was. I still continued to be a horrible wretch without even knowing that I had grieved God continuously. I had picked up sins in my life that I had no desire to turn away from. Yet at the same time, I only went to God on my weekends and whenever else I felt like.
My relationship with Jesus grew cold and distant and I always wondered why. I had desperately needed a savior for my current situation, and by the grace of God working in my close brothers in Christ, I was convicted by the Holy Spirit. I was convicted of the fact that I was a criminal who deserved nothing more than judgement and punishment! I had continually sinned against a holy God and had taken His atonement on the cross for granted. The next thing I was convicted of was the most eye-opening thing I had found. It was that He loved me so much and was opening His arms out to me – and that He was the most precious thing to behold! If I wanted more of God, I needed to fight my sin. The ultimate gain of Christ on the cross was that now I was brought to a relationship with God! Above all things – like health, family, and even eternal life – I get God to be with. That was what I wanted. And I knew that the only way to get more of God in my life was to pursue Him with everything and let go of my sin. I was awakened to the beauty of the gospel – that He came so that I may have life, and life in abundance (John 10:10). Now, I pray that everyone I meet may be pointed towards Jesus Christ. I pray this for the sake of their joy and God’s glory. This is how Jesus has impacted my life, and I hope that my story will impact yours.
Kevin Wu is a recent graduate of Walnut High School who has a passion for the love of Jesus Christ to impact surrounding students. He currently has a dream of one day attending and graduating from seminary to pursue his passion of pastoring teenagers.
This is an article from RE:NEW Magazine Issue 2. Check out our digital magazines to read this in its original form or subscribe to have future issues delivered right to your doorstep!
- The Joy Of My Life - September 18, 2012
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