Hope for Life Blog

He was a great athlete: all state in football and recruited to play baseball at a major university. He had been around Christians and church all of his life but never really connected. While in college, he had some injury problems that resulted in reliance on medication that eventually led to substance abuse. He returned home a shell of the man he used to be. He was a wreck physically and emotionally.

Someone suggested that he come visit with me, and he did. Over time, I shared the good news of Jesus with him. We talked about the God who made him and loved him. We talked about what a mess his life was…right after we talked about how I had made a mess of my life. I shared the amazing story of God’s own Son coming to live among us. I told of the sinless Savior who died for our sins. We talked about the relationship with Jesus that brings us into the family of God.

I shared the call of Jesus to come and die with him, to share in his death and resurrection. But he was not ready. He spent almost one year processing the good news of Jesus. He had to realize he could not make his life work on his own. He began to watch his own family try to live out their faith. He started dating a Christian woman. He visited worship often.

Then one night it all clicked. I wish I could tell you it was my preaching, but I think it just all finally made sense. He decided to give his life to Jesus in baptism. He got ready, and then couldn’t get in the water. He could not go through with it. After about one hour, we got to the root of the problem. He just could not accept the fact that God could forgive someone as who had messed up as much as he had.

And that was when I knew he was about to get it. That is why it is good news…and it is true. It does not matter what you have done, or how bad you have been. No one is good enough to save themselves anyway. So Jesus did it for us.

So what do you think? Is it too good to be true? Have you ever wondered about it? Why is it so hard to accept?

And by the way, this young man did get it, we did baptize him, and he is my brother.