Will I Feel Differently When I Accept Jesus?

When some people accept Christ's forgiveness for their sin and enter into a relationship with Him for the first time, they experience a rush of emotion. Some weep for joy at what God has done for them. But what if there is no rush of emotion? What if you feel pretty much the same afterwards? Does that mean your conversion "didn't take"?

No. God's promises remain true regardless of any emotion we may or may not feel. God's truth is not reliant on any feelings we may experience and our salvation is not reliant upon an emotional response. Think of it like this: some people meet, fall in love and get married. At the time of their wedding they are often consumed with emotion--love, excitement and joy. Other people enter into arranged marriages. They may experience very different emotions, or possibly very few. They are simply making a decision to make a commitment to a relationship that they, as of yet, may know little about. Now, which of these couples is more married? Neither, of course. They are both just as married and both have a good chance of it being a successful, loving relationship. So, even though the experiences were very different, both marriages are equally valid.

No matter what our emotional response may be, we need to realize that accepting Christ's offer of salvation is not simply saying a prayer. We are entering into a lifelong relationship with God. We are recognizing that God Himself, as Jesus Christ, paid the penalty for our sinfulness by His death. We are recognizing that He did this willingly—a sacrifice made so that we would not have to die for our own sins and, thereby, never be able to have a relationship with a perfect God. We are recognizing our need, His payment and our new identity in Christ, as a child of God.

The Bible says,

"For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him." (John 3:16-17)

And,

"Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God-- children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband's will, but born of God." (John 1:12-13)