I'm not sure where it all began. Was it in the womb, through other people's prayers, was it before the foundation of the earth, was it when I wondered about my own self-existence as a child, or was it when the Gospel was preached to me? Or was it an accumulation of all the above?
I do remember as a child when I realised my parents didn't know everything, and in that moment, the world became a much bigger place. That's when I started questioning my own self-existence.
By that age, I had already pondered on the existence of God, albeit mildly. I remember my mother telling me that she was given a necklace with a cross on it by the owners of a sweet shop that she would go by often. I mention that because she was a young (teenage) mother when she was pregnant with me, and being pregnant so young was obviously looked down upon, even more so in the 1970s. I am making a fair assumption that the sweet shop couple were most likely a Christian couple and prayed for my mother and me, yet to be born.
I can't remember exactly how old I was when I came to the conclusion that there must be a God. I recall, as a teenager, buying a book on different religions. I remember that I was seeking out God. Little did I know then that, really, this was His ongoing expression of Love to me, working on my heart to draw me to Himself. There was no question at that point of whether or not I believed in a Creator God; I did. Creation gently screams for all to hear, "The Great I AM, Glory, Glory, Glory to the Great I AM". I am unable to believe otherwise, even if I wanted to, and to my shame and demise, there have been times in my life when I have wanted to. After reading the book on religions, I came to the conclusion that the 'Christian God' made the most sense.
I think that sums up the start of my faith in Jesus. Though I could mention my Grandmother, who I was most fond of, was Roman Catholic; and my mother, on a very rare occasion, made mention of God (in a positive light). Is it possible the latter had more influence on me than I think, possibly. Though I can count on a couple of fingers the number of times I went to church before I was an adult.
However, I have left out what I believe could be of paramount importance concerning the beginning of my faith, and that is the fact that I was baptised as an infant.
How much impact did that have on me as an infant? Arguably, none since many who are baptised as infants do not go on to make a profession of faith in Jesus Christ, which is necessary for salvation. However, I can't stop thinking it has some merit.
I was going to discuss infant baptism here, but I do not want to cause confusion. Instead, I will point to 1 Corinthians 7:14 , which tells us that the child of a believing parent is considered Holy by the Lord.
Will such children be required to make their own profession of faith at some point for salvation? 100% Yes, it is paramount. So long as they have the mental capacity to do so.
Should that child then receive believers' Baptism when they make said profession? I am unsure, I will leave that to the conviction of the believer.
What I do know is that there is no person with perfect theology, myself included. I only propose to glorify God and seek unity. So, how do I seek unity on such a controversial subject? First, I suggest being open to listening to one another. I encourage people to lean towards believers' Baptism with an unrestricted limitation on the age for a confession of faith and baptism. This approach, to me at least, seems undeniable, biblically.
Putting on extra measures for having faith in our Lord Jesus, such as age or maturity, does not seem to align with a literal reading of scripture, whether looking at Jesus' teaching, Peter's, or Paul's.
I have been reading on infant baptism, and it has made for some absolutely fascinating reading. I think it is useful to read teaching material other than the bible and listen to various teachers; however, ultimately, most time should be spent in the Word itself, and we should be mindful of being 'pulled from pillar to post' on various topics. How do we avoid that? Read the Bible for ourselves, and pray.