Jesus said, “Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and dine with him, and he with Me.” (Revelation 3:20 (NKJV))

Don’t you love to hear stories about how different couples met? They’re as individual as fingerprints – no two are alike. Some got to know each other in high school and have been married for decades. Others met in an online gaming site, through friends, or even while commuting to work on the bus. There are couples who fell in love at first sight, while others took years for the relationship to develop.

The story of how I met my husband is as distinct as any other. We first saw each other at a McDonalds while we were at lunch in high school. Then we saw each other again at a mutual friend’s house. A few months later, we met at a cast party for a high school play.

We became friends, going on short road trips, eating dinner, hiking, and hanging out. He was always there when I needed him – through good times and bad. As the trust grew, I fell in love. But it would still be a while before I would admit my feelings. And a few years before we would become a couple and get married.

Salvation stories – accounts of how you met your first love, Jesus – are just as unique. God is awesome. He doesn’t work the same way twice. I’m sure that the way I came to know Jesus is very different from the way you met Him. Each one is beautiful, intricate . . . impossible.

But God.

God meets us right where we’re at. He pursues each one of us, desiring for us to see all He has done so we’ll fall in love with Him. When we do, “[w]e love Him because He first loved us” (1 John 4:19 (NKJV)).

Jesus is so patient, so kind, so loving. He’s a gentleman. He knocks on the door of your heart and patiently waits to see if you’ll open the door to invite Him in. He doesn’t ever force the door open.

I was thinking about how my love story with my husband parallels my salvation story in certain ways. Like my husband, I saw Jesus a few times before I actually met Him. When I was young child, I saw Jesus during Sunday school classes. Then, as a teenager, I saw Him again at Bible camp one summer. But it would take longer before I met Jesus. I didn’t take the time to meet Him and get to know Him until many years later.

Although I grew up going to different churches, I was unwilling to submit myself to God, to do things His way. Instead, I relied on myself. I had many goals that I wanted to accomplish – things I thought would make me happy. Yet, after I had achieved most of them, I was still miserable, unsatisfied, and empty inside.

During that time, I finally sought God with all my heart for the first time in my life. God promises that when you search for Him with all your heart, you will find Him (Deuteronomy 4:29; Jeremiah 29:13). And I did.

When I finally opened the door of my heart and invited Jesus in, I got to know Him and learned to trust Him. And then I fell in love.

Although my circumstances didn’t change, my perspective on life was suddenly different. I no longer feared death. I felt a deep contentment in His love. Needless to say, my life hasn’t been the same since.

God began changing me from the inside out, one issue at a time. He began by showing me that the music I was listening to and some of the movies I was watching didn’t glorify Him. Not only that, the music and movies weren’t building me up but tearing me down. He showed me the importance of my thought life. And He implanted desires to serve Him and others. The work He’s done in my life has been amazing.

So, how did you meet your first love, Jesus? What’s your salvation story? Take time to record your testimony. Then tell someone how God brought you to Him. Let’s encourage each other by sharing how we met our first love, Jesus, as we walk by faith with Him.

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