Previous Challenge Entry (Level 4 – Masters)
Topic: Wise and Foolish Builders (Matthew 7:24-27, Luke 6:47-49) (01/18/24)
-
TITLE: Bedroom Bible | Previous Challenge Entry
By Corinne Smelker
01/25/24 -
LEAVE COMMENT ON ARTICLE
SEND A PRIVATE COMMENT
ADD TO MY FAVORITES
“I’ll drop you at school in the morning. When you are done for the day, you take the bus home, do your homework, get your housework done, and then you sit in your room. No radio time, no family time. I won’t have it in my house.”
My father was true to his word. Every weekday morning, he’d drop me at the all-girls school I attended before dropping my brother off at his. After dinner, I was banished to my room.
I was on a camp when I decided to become a Christ-follower. That same day, two of my friends made the same decision. Little did my parents know, but the school allowed Christian groups to meet before and after school, so as soon as my father dropped me off, I’d meet fellow believers for a 45-minute Bible Study and prayer meeting. I was gifted a small Bible that I kept under my mattress, so every evening, while the rest of the family listened to “Father Dear Father,” “Men from the Ministry,” and “Navy Lark,” I was reading the gospels, the letters and the Psalms.
My two friends attended the same pre-school Christian activity, and they shone. They were instant favorites amongst the more senior girls and were quickly asked to lead different groups and join the leadership of the Student Christian Association (SCA).
As for me, I sat in the back of the meetings, listening and taking notes. Unlike my two friends, I had had no introduction to Christianity beyond one or two Christmas Eve services my grandmother took me to before we emigrated from England. Everything was new to me. And everything was grist to my mill.
“What do you think Jesus meant when He said…” I asked Frances, one of my friends, one morning.
“No idea,” she responded. “But hey, the rugby team at the boys' school is playing this afternoon. I’m going to watch them. Riaan is so cute, don’t you think?”
“Hey, Alison. Are you coming to Bible Study? I’ve missed seeing you in the mornings.”
Alison fiddled with the Bunsen burner as we worked on a science experiment. “Nah. I don’t want to get up so early in the morning anymore. It’s hard, you know. Plus, I prefer hanging out with Marie and her friends. They go to some dop* parties!”
So went the rest of the school year. Go to school. Come home. Do homework. Do the housework. Go to my room. Read the Bible and pray. I read the entire Bible that year. I learnt to pray, using the principles taught at the pre-school meetings and from what I gleaned from Scripture.
When I returned to school after the summer holidays, I was eager to jump back into the SCA activities. I noticed Frances and Alison, my two friends, weren’t part of the group.
“They left,” Carole said.
“What? Why?”
“They decided it was too hard, too much work, and so they decided they didn’t want to be a part of this. Frances has even stopped going to church,” Carole said.
I was crushed. Frances and Alison had it all – supportive parents, easy access to Christian teaching, and the ability to read the Bible at home openly, and they left it all?
“You’re lucky.” Carole interrupted my silent monologue.
“Lucky? Me?”
“Well, maybe lucky is the wrong word. I know you haven’t said much, but I know your parents have made things hard for you, and you have persisted in pursuing your relationship with the Lord. I bet nothing will turn your head or make you give up your faith. You’ve built a deep relationship with God. The leadership team has noticed it. Good for you!”
As I look back at the first 18 months of my life as a Christian, before my parents shipped me off to a non-religious boarding school in the hopes that that would change my mind about Christianity, I see how the Lord built within me a deep foundation that has never foundered. Mistakes have been made and sins committed, but my faith has never wavered. I fought hard for my faith, which is built on the solid rock of Christ.
*Dop – cool.
The opinions expressed by authors may not necessarily reflect the opinion of FaithWriters.com.
Accept Jesus as Your Lord and Savior Right Now - CLICK HERE
JOIN US at FaithWriters for Free. Grow as a Writer and Spread the Gospel.
