if i wasn't a christian...

[gypsygirl]

one thing i occasionally ponder is what my life would be like if i wasn't a christian.

i can see aspects of it so clearly, that envisioning my life that way is almost a "scared straight" moment for me. i can continue that path in my mind and see the pain and destruction my life would find were i to be living that life. the hopelessness, and pursuit for love that would only bring me pain.

when i envision that life, it also makes me feel more compassion for my unsaved friends. this is what they're missing out on, but they don't know better.

i am so thankful that in spite of our sin nature, not only has God forgiven us, but He loves us enough to continue to refine us, woo us, draw us to Him in spite of my myself.

does anyone else ponder how different your life would be?
and what effect does it have on you?
can you see what destruction God's influence on your life has spared you from?

 

[hoss2576]

Given the accumulation of experiences I have had, I think I would have been an angrier person if I didn't have Christ. That anger I am sure would have led to some rash decisions which would have been to my detriment. However, by having Christ in my life, I have a fuller grasp of all of my own shortcomings especially when held up to the mirror of Christ, which allows me to show more mercy and compassion.

 

[MissCris]

I've always had God in my life; I may have tried to avoid Him, or tried to shut him out, but He's been there and it's very easy for me to see the impact that's had on nearly everything over the years.

If I wasn't a Christian, I'd have completely destroyed myself by now.

This is is kind of a big dramatic thing to say, but there was a time...years ago...when being a stripper seemed like a good idea, and I could even see the appeal of prostitution. THANK GOD I was protected from going down that road.

If I wasn't a Christian, I might now have a closet full of fabulous shoes and trashy clothes and might've changed my name to like...Candy or...I don't know, goodness, I should've stayed out of this thread...

 

[secularhermit]

There was a time I tore several Bibles. I tried to destroy what several men (and women) tried to destroy once, in their lives. I´ve been spared, more times that I could of...

Yes! Thankful! The process of being refined is not yet achieved (otherwise, I´d be gone HOME) but I see I have a huge spiritual debt I cannot pay, even if I were the one I´m not: Just thinking about all those who prayed ernestly for me (for you and all), pondering the ways many pray and fasted to seek God´s will to find ways to reach the unreached and those who paid to get missioneries and some wanted to come to countries like Venezuela.

I don´t care how different I would be, instead, how different it could be if I had thought the same way those who helped me find Jesus. Why was I so afraid of being a missionery?

What would I have missed serving HIM, instead of "pleasing" the selfishness of my life?

 

[iTOREtheSKY]

I'm pretty sure w/out God in my life I'd be dead. I mean,like when I was a teen. If not from drinking myself sober after 3 days straight of intoxication,then from being at the wrong place at the wrong time with all the wrong people. God had His hand on my life from the time I was 4 when my Mom got saved. No matter how many times I ran from His love or pushed Him away..He was always there,waiting for me to come running home.

God placed so many awesome people in my path along the way as examples. I know that had it not been for the prayers & love He placed in their hearts for me,I'd surely have been lost so long ago.

 

[Raine]

I would literally be living in hell on earth. I would be married, partying, drinking, probably involved in some sort of sexual sin, my parents hearts would still be broken... I'm sure I would be hurting many people that I love around me. My would be angry and out of control I'm sure... The list goes on and on... All that is good about me comes from the love of Christ.

 

[Liamson]

If I wasn't a Christian, I would be a militant Atheist.

 

[violakat]

I have to agree with iTore on the being dead part. Or else a teen mom. I suffered from depression as a teen, and several times came close to killing myself but I was always stopped before I could try. Also, my best friend was drinking and doing drugs, as well as having sex with pretty much every bf she had. Right before high school I ended up moving, and I think that is what prevented me from going down that road. God had to move me because I had gotten to a point where I knew that I would not be able to say no to drugs or drinking. I realized that one night when I knew that if I was with my best friend and she offered me something, I would have taken it.

 

[Jonathan1977]

If I wasn't a Christian(scary thought) I would either be dead by my own hand or one of those crazy, angry guys that go out for bloody revenge on the world. It scares me just thinking about it now. The amount of suffering I could cause if it wasn't for Jesus in my life. He showed me that the world may hate me for things I can't control, but He loves me for all I am. I need to keep reminding myself of that sometimes.

 

[Pipp]

If I wasn't a Christian I most definitely wouldn't be a very modest or virtuous lady in any way.. not saying I'm the proverbs 31 woman now..but I know I would be worse off. I'm so thankful for Nov.30 1999 when I called on God with a repentant heart as a religious 16 year old....and he saw fit to save my unworthy soul.

 

[persNickety]

I probably would have committed suicide or would have been a cutter. Low times in my life, I was hanging on hope that things would change and God would help. I was hanging to God because there was nothing else to hold on to. I think God coupled with being diagnosed with epilepsy/ having seizures turned me away from suicide. The reality of dying not by choice was scary, I clung to God to help keep me alive when I couldn't help myself.

I came to this revelation: when you are faced with death that is out of your control, you find reasons to live.

 

[FireWire]

That's easy. I would've taken a dirtnap long ago.

 

[11Eleven-Bravo]

To be honest, I don't know if much would be very different. I'm a Christian now, but a horrible sinner at the same time. It's a daily struggle for me. I just think the struggle would be all the more intensified and more difficult for me.

I am always saying to others that I strive towards the morally righteous and just course of action, yet my actions are a direct contradiction to my words sometimes.

I think if I weren't a Christian, I'd struggle tenfold more than I do now.

 

[IloveyouGod]

God IS Love, Wisdom, Mercy, Humility and Grace. I gained all of this from Him and without Him I'm nothing.

 

[oyster67]

I'd have had 50,000 nervous breakdowns and be in a mental ward because I didn't have the gut's to commit suicide.
"Then Simon Peter answered Him, Lord, to whom shall we go? Thou hast the words of eternal life."
-John 6:68
"If in this life only we have hope in Christ, then we are of all men most miserable"
-1 Corinthians 15:19
No Jesus, No Peace.
Know Jesus, Know Peace.

 

[Tintin]

I don't know. I wouldn't be much fun to be around. I would probably be an anxiety-ridden mess with an unhealthy dose of depression. I certainly wouldn't have felt that sliver of hope or peace of God in some of my darkest hours. I'm so glad I have Christ in my life!

 

[ji]

i would have been dead,i will stay dead and would have been a forgotten memory in the mind of people..
Its only by the Spirit of Lord God i Breathe every moment after i got my 2nd chance..

 

[Markum1972]

If I had not submitted to the Lord Jesus Christ, I would have become a dangerous man seeking to fulfill all of my lusts in manners that brought destruction to all that stood in my way. Either that I would have been killed by now. Thanks be to God for not only saving such a wretched man, but for transforming me into the man I am today.

Oops... almost forgot to answer the question. No... I do not spend time thinking about this for obvious reasons. I prefer to not remember the former things.

 

[Pres19]

I would have most likely ended up like the women in my family. Taken pills to get high, drinking and waking up next to random men after partying all night. Id be rude, heartless, angry and out of control. No one would ever want to be around me and my depression would get the best of me.

Thankfully, I don't have to live like that.

 

[BugeyeSTi]

Honestly I would most likely be dead. There are several instances that come to mind where I know that God was watching over me to protect me.

It's kind of hard for me to know what my life would be without God, as the time that I've only been 'saved' for less than three years. I'm sure my life would be different, it's just hard to see the tweaks that have been made and the trajectory that i would have traveled in this passing of time we call life.