Craig Scott

When I think of Jesus, I’m totally amazed by His grace. Grace is showing goodness to those who don’t deserve it. I certainly didn’t deserve grace from God, but in He saved me anyway at the age of 12.

I was brought up on a scheme in the east end of Glasgow by my single mum. God was never mentioned and, just like many Scottish homes, we lived our life how we wanted to. I was born with a bowel disability and when I was 8 we moved to England so I could have an operation. We lived in Northampton and it was at school that I first heard about Jesus. A local minister came to take the school assembly and spoke about the Good Samaritan (Luke 10 verses 29-37) – where Jesus teaches about a man who was left for dead by robbers, but was shown unexpected kindness by his worst enemy. I couldn’t explain it at the time but I knew that if I saw a man who I disliked getting injured, I wouldn’t help him. I knew I was a sinner, so I spoke to the minister and he gave me a Bible. The more I read about Jesus, the more I knew about my own sin and His goodness. I asked my mum if I could go to church but she wouldn’t let me. I was very disappointed but kept reading my Bible.

When I was 11, my family moved back to Glasgow. This time the church was close so I was allowed to go to church alone. The church I went to was full of nice people and was very welcoming but I was terrified of going. I thought only good people went to church and I wasn’t good enough. But fighting this fear, I knew I wanted to know more about Jesus so I kept going.

I was soon taught that Christians are sinners too. The only difference is they have asked for and accepted Jesus’ forgiveness. With this fear out of the way, I loved to hear teaching about Jesus. I knew I was a sinner and I also knew Jesus was a Saviour – but I didn’t understand the connection. The verse that changed me was Romans 1 verse 17 ‘The righteous shall live by faith.’ To be righteous (made right with God) I needed to turn away from my sin and live by faith that Jesus took my punishment. It was wonderful! Jesus Christ came into this world to die on the cross for people like me. I was amazed at Him rising from the dead so that I could believe in Him as the Son of God and be saved.

Since then, there have still been challenges. I’ve been homeless. I’ve been lonely at times in my life. But God is always there. He is faithful, in good times and bad. There have been times when I haven’t lived as a Christian should. But God is forgiving. I’m now 27 and studying in Edinburgh. I hope to be a minister and be like the man who taught me about the Bible at school, so that people will know about Jesus’ love.