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David M. Marino
April 28, 2015
Prof. J. Intawiwat
2015SP_ENG112_37
This I Believe
I remember being six years old, clearly and vividly. My parents
were fighting and my mom left. I didnt understand why she left; I only
knew she left. My dad was angry, and I was scared. As years went by, I
saw that my mom had a new family. She had gotten remarried, had a
new son, and was smoking. These were the three things I noticed
about her and her new life, now 700 miles way. I thought to myself,
My mom loved these things more than me? What was so good about
her new husband? What was so good about her new son? Or even
cigarettes? That she would leave me for them.

I was lonely, and I was too scared to talk to my dad. I had

accepted the fact that he was doing the best he could. Due to lack of
money, we were forced to move four different times, in five years. I
began to invest my time in sports, girls, and popularity. Anything I
could do to get my attention off of reality.

As I went through high school, I began to realize I was imperfect,

and I got caught up in a battle to be someone and worth something. I

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now know, that what I was really searching for was love. I thought I
was searching to be someone, be worth something, or be enough to
get peoples attention. Little did I know, no one was looking to give
someone his or her attention, but only to get someone elses. I began
to realize everyone is suffering from pain, all rooted in one thing: lack
of love.

This world is built and inhabited by people. People who are

looking at the world saying, What can I get out this? How can I please
myself? And such. The center is always on us. I know not all people
think is way, but I would argue most do. However, it was not until one
day, my whole world changed.

It all changed when I began reading my Bible; the last place I

thought to look for love. I have heard the sermons, sang the songs
about Gods love. But it wasnt until the day I searched it out for
myself.

I read in the Bible, God is love. I realized that love is not just
something God expresses, or does, but at the very core of who he is.
He is love by nature! I thought to myself, How is that possible?

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As I continued to read my Bible, I discovered something very
foreign to me in John 3:16. It says, For God so loved that he gave his
one and only Son. This amazed me. In a world were I had seen
everyone take from everyone in order to get what he or she wanted, I
saw something different. I saw God give to everyone, so they could get
what they needed. What did they need? John 3:16, goes on to say,
That whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.

In a world where my mom left me, my dad failed me, my friends

made fun of me, I, for the first time, encountered a love that left its
comfort, its convenience, to save me. A love that came to save me
from my sin, and welcome me into the family of God. A love that is
eternal. A love that never fails. A love that is unconditional.

It has been three years since I first encountered this love in a

deep and personal way. It is this love that gives me the faith to trust
God. It this love that gives me hope that there will one day be an end
to evil. It is this love that gives me the love to love others.

For 18 years, I hated my parents deep down inside. My mom left

me and my dad abused me. They gave me every reason to hate them,
and by the world standards I should. But the love of God is the one
reason why I was able to forgive them and love them. I can now say,

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thanks to the love of God, that I have a relationship with my parents,
and can say that despite our trials, we love each other.

This is why I believe in God. Even when I was hopeless, he gave

me hope. Even when it seemed like an end in my relationship between
my parents and I, he made it the beginning. But most importantly, he
loved me with a love that I did not deserve; he loved me as a sinner.
My sin separated me from God. But the Bible says in Romans 5:8, But
God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still
sinners, Christ died for us. Everything I ever wanted was to be loved.
God, at my weakest moment, loved me, with a love that is the greatest
of all. Praise God, for what he has done in my life. I hope you will find a
love as rich as I have found. I believe it only comes from God. This is
why I believe in God.