ONE of the toughest roads to redemption is not from the "bottom" but from the "top"... there are those that lead "good" lives and attend church, those who are religious or spiritual... not living on the fringes or in the dregs... living in the middle of grace.
Call it apathy, call it mediocrity or call it complacency... but don't call it living.
This young Christian lady I know, left for the "big city" ...she couldn't stand to live in a small town, with small dreams, and small minds... but with big drama. HOPING to gain perspective and freedom, she set off to explore... and I think she wanted to see if her faith was even real... or just put it all on hold for a while.
Passed on to her by her parents, the experience of God seemed surreal; churches seemed cold, and religion seemed irrelevant. Months had passed, even a year... concerned, we asked her to get "plugged in" to a church or Christian friendship, and she tried, only to confirm... religion wasn't cutting it. She could feel that something was missing, but she had no desire to look to church... living as an outsider was tough, inside the "family of God" ...who could have imagined, this once bright "life of the party" evangelistic lover of Jesus, would be leaving it all behind... looking elsewhere for hope.
ONE morning clear as day, she heard in her spirit... "You are going to Church today" ...and as quickly as the thought came into her mind, she responded... "NO I'm NOT!" Again the voice said... "You are going to Church today, and you are taking your friend" ...this friend was a person I told her earlier not to have anything to do with, because he was trouble... she replied again, this time somewhat bewildered... "No I'm not." This guy was a heavy drug dealer among other things... like, that will be the day, that he would go to church anyway, she thought. Then the phone rang.
Guess who? It was the one God said she was to take to Church... he was sobbing. He had lost everything and had tried to kill himself... and all he could say at first was "God told me to call you... and you are supposed to take me to Church... and I don't even know God!?!" She near fell over! So she went to meet him, and they walked and talked the better part of the day. BOTH of them crying and sobbing about the lives that they were leading... all the while she was praying about which church she could take him to, hoping that it wouldn't be a bad experience... in the evening they went to a church she had been to before... nervously they sat and waited and talked.
He wore a pull-over to cover his tattoos... asking if it was OK for guys like him to be in church... she had shared all day the things she was raised on, and how for this reason, Jesus came to pay the price we could not pay. Just as he was looking for the door, a big guy with tattoos came up and welcomed them both to the church... this was about to get interesting! The music and message was everything that they both needed to hear... they sobbed through the entire service, and he gave his life to Jesus...
...and she again surrendered it all... to the faithful ONE.
Since then this guy can't get enough... he is volunteering at a homeless shelter, loving the loveless and praying for the hopeless... he is on fire! Everyday he has been growing in care for those around him... he has been baptized, and is serving anyone who needs help, what a picture of what we all need to be. AND this is the point... we can see so clear how these new souls for Jesus, are a "chip off the old block" so to speak,
they look like their master... and they love like Jesus loved...
...like how so many of us have forgotten.
Many are "lost" in the middle of "found" ...though they are safe in the arms of Christ, they have forgotten what it is like to be hopeless... "redemption" is reaching out, it is giving a helping hand... it is knowing that YES, Jesus loves us, but not more than those who are still outside the fold... just remember... while you are on your way to heaven, don't forget to take someone along with you... it makes the journey worth it...
...who knows, the very SOUL that you "save" ...may just be your own.
"Be merciful, even as your Father is merciful" Luke 6:36