“Hey, Mark Brady,” a man called out. I studied his face intently. “I’m sorry. Do I know you?” He told me his name, and I still did not recognize him, but yes, I did know him. I had not seen him since we graduated high school together many, many, many years ago. Okay, add another “many” and a half!
To be honest, I did not like him at all in school. He was wild, loud, and mean! Some might even say he was a bully, at least to me. I avoided him. But now, he seemed much different. Transformed. I had heard over the years that he had accepted Jesus Christ into his life and changed how he lived. I could see it.
Reminds me of the change Saul (from the Bible) went through. He was a highly educated man who couldn’t understand why people would follow Jesus and even die for believing in Him as the Son of God like Steven did. (Steven was the first recorded martyr. Acts 7:55-60) Then, on the road to Damascus, Saul had a personal encounter with Jesus Christ. Saul believed and instantly changed, and Jesus even changed his name to Paul.
Paul went from persecuting Christians to preaching the Gospel of Jesus Christ. It took many a while to believe the change in him was authentic, and they probably doubted it would last, but it did. Paul became one of God’s greatest servants and wrote two-thirds of the New Testament.
Accepting Jesus into your life should generate a change in you. If it doesn’t, then you are not genuinely becoming “Christ-like,” which is what being a “Christian” means. People can, and do change so don’t ever give up on them. Keep praying for them and who knows they may become like Christ someday.
Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new. 2 Cor. 5:17 (NKJV)
Copyright © 2023 Mark Brady. All rights reserved.
Yes, they’re out there. They do exist. In fact, I’ve seen them. They can be difficult to spot, because they live their life without revealing their secret, they’re Christians.
I would go visit them, and before I knew it, they would be giving me a guided tour of their latest acquisitions. Antiques, what nots, weird things, but things that appealed to them. I would hear the story of where they found it, and why they liked it. The one fact that never went unnoticed was how excited they were over their latest find, and the one thing that always struck me funny was when they would ask, “You want to know how much I paid?”
Confession: I have never been inside a confessional booth. I grew up in a church where doing so was not part of our spiritual practice. I am at a temple where there is one. I am writing this blog post while sitting inside it. Not intended, but in order to see I brought a small, but bright LED light. It is casting such a white glow I think it scared a couple checking out the temple.
Old Testament time: Mankind was given “time” by God. He created light, and separated it from dark. He called the light “day”, and the dark “night”. That was day one. (Gen. 1:3-5) Pastor Robert Morris says, time gives us stability, and rhythm to life. During eternity, there will be no need for time. Jesus operates in a whole different realm than we do. He is not bound by time. He can go back in time, and forward in time, in no time.
There it is. Right there in front of you. It is unwelcomed, and even now, is unwanted, but there it is. A situation has developed in your presence. One that activates emotions. They seem to come out of nowhere, and they arrive so fast.
What do you charge for your LOVE? Is that by the ounce, gallon, hour, or some other form of measurement? Do people, or your family, feel you can’t be bothered? Your friends never ask for a favor, because they know you won’t help for whatever convenient excuse you flip to in your “excuse Rolodex”? LOVE is more than words. It is action. It does. It does whatever it takes. It does, whatever it can, for others.
brady, mark a. 