I recently met a young man who was four months into a long term rehab program. When I saw him I asked if he was a visitor, because he looked far too young to be in the program. When he told me that he wasn't a visitor, I then asked him to tell me his story. Oh, my! He told me a tragic tale of drugs, sexual abuse, dealing, fatherhood, alcoholism, living on the streets - all this by a young man in his early twenties. For about 20 minutes he told me story after story of near death, broken relationships, lies, pain and misery. Then he asked me what my story was. I was a little taken aback, so I started by telling him that my story was very different than his. I told him about growing up going to church, becoming a Christian at 17 years of age and following Christ ever since. I could see this confused and slightly overwhelmed look come across his face, so I explained to him that I was the chaplain for Heaven's Saints. At that point he smiled, nodded his head and a look of understanding came across his face, as if my being a chaplain somehow explained my apparent holiness. We then went quickly back to his story. On my way home I thought more about his testimony and my testimony and I realized that when I told him that my story was very different than his, I should have also told him that it was exactly the same. You see, it matters little to God where you are coming from and what you have done. All that matters to God is where you are going. I was as hell bound, before I came to Christ, as anyone else. My not doing drugs, not making babies and not abusing alcohol did absolutely nothing to make my standing with God any better than anyone else. And, my going to church and hanging around with the youth group didn't help either. We all stand equally guilty in God's sight (Romans 3:23). Sin is sin, no matter how big or small we might try and make it. Jesus really leveled the playing field when he said that even our thoughts of lust and anger are subject to God's judgment (Matthew 5:21-28). All of our testimonies are about before and after - before we met Christ and after we surrendered our lives to him. Until we give Him our lives, until we repent, until we walk faithfully in obedience to His call, we are all headed in the same direction - away from God. Yes, my testimony is different than his. I haven't had to deal with addiction, or severally broken relationships, or close calls with death, but my testimony is also exactly the same. There was a time in my life when I was on a path to eternal separation from God. And, like any other person who has accepted Christ as their Saviour, I struggle with keeping pure, with doubt, anger, lust and so on. I have to "work out" my salvation, just like every other Christian (Philippians 2:12). I am both humbled and grateful that I have been spared a lot of the deep pain that others have gone through, but I also know that it isn't because I deserved it or earned it. For whatever reason it is the path that God chose for me. I don't know why some suffer more than others. What I do know is that, whoever we are and wherever we have come from, God sees us exactly the same way - with loving eyes and with arms wide open. He is reaching out to all of us saying, "Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest." (Matthew 11:28) That young man is only four months into the program. I pray that he can complete it. I pray that he never gives in again to the addiction and the pain that ravaged his life. I pray that ten years from now his testimony is one of not just being clean and sober, but one of obedience to Christ and of a close and continuous walk with God. I will never be able to understand what he has gone through, but I can testify that I too was once lost and now found. Amen |
| All The Same |
| “All scripture passages are NIV unless otherwise noted.” |
| By: Kevin, HSMM |
| JESUS IS LORD |
| Heaven's Saints M/M Windsor Ontario Canada |
| - |
