I suppose I “knew” God from an early age. I belong to a family where both my parents are Christadelphians, as were all of my grandparents and most of my great grandparents. I went to Sunday School and we regularly read the Bible together at home.
I learnt a lot about Bible characters, their different stories and the teachings of Jesus. Growing up, I think I took it for granted that God exists, that the Bible is God’s Word and that it is literally true – Noah did build an ark, the Red Sea did part, Jesus did rise from the dead.
Through my teens I realised I would have to decide whether I believed these things or not for myself. Believing the Bible just because I’d been taught to do so when I was young wasn’t going to be good enough anymore.
Christadelphians don’t baptise children – that has to be a personal commitment which you make for yourself.
If anything, the thought of joining the church simply because most of my family had before me, made me delay the decision. If I was going to be baptised I wanted it to be for the right reasons and I wanted to be serious about the commitment I was making.
I was finishing my A levels. I’d applied to universities but didn’t really want to go. I’d deferred my entry in order to take a gap year but didn’t know what to do. Life was changing around me and I didn’t know where I was heading.
I realised that one consistent thing had been the Bible. I appreciated the same passages in new ways. I listened to familiar teachings for the first time. I started to get to know God.
I was baptised and I’ve been getting to know God ever since.