Not My Decision

We attended church with some friends this past weekend. It's always interesting to attend church at "not home" on occasion, because I get to see how other congregations (and other denominations) do things. One thing they had in the service was a "reception of people making a Decision" or something along that lines. At any rate, it was the bit in the service where you go forward if you "decide" to accept Christ as your Savior.
I've been taught that we don't "decide" any such thing. So I got to thinking about this. In the past, when I was growing up, occasionally a group would come to our neighborhood during the summer, and offer a program for a week or two in the mornings, and my mom would send us. (Now that I'm grown up, I can't say as I blame her! Those were her only "time off" during the summer - and I'm betting that's when she got stuff done. ) During those programs, they always had a "Decision Time" - same thing, really, as was in church. We'd all go real quiet and they'd explain what it was and "you should ask Jesus into your heart."
I always thought about it, and being a little kid and not really understanding the whole "I cannot by my own reason or strength believe in my Lord Jesus Christ, or come to Him", I'd sit there and ask. I never felt any different, though, and when you're 6 or 7 or 10, that's kind of a letdown. Here you've been told you'll feel a great peace, joy, love, whatever - and I never felt any different. So it was kind of disappointing.
Reflecting on that this week, though, I really thought about it. (Considering I haven't bothered with those memories in quite some time, I'm surprised I remembered it at ALL, actually, but that's neither here nor there.) And I realized that of course, the reason I never "felt" any different was because I wasn't any different. My parents had had me baptized and I've been a Child of Christ since I was an infant. NOT since I was seven, or eight, or twelve, or twenty-eight, or whatever. I absolutely did not Decide in any way, shape or form to accept Christ's salvation. And I realized something further.
There's an incredible comfort in knowing, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that I am saved. That my salvation isn't based on my feeling saved, or my mood-of-the-moment, or my "opinion", or anything on my part. It's all been handled. Care-free, worry-free, and effort-free on my part. I don't have to do or say or feel ANY particular way, and it doesn't matter. I'm still saved.

"But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us."
I never really realized how comforting Romans 5:8 was before.