West Cocoa Chat

I think there are times when those of us who have been “in Christ” for a long time or those of us who do not have a “checkered past” by the world’s standards lose some perspective. At least I know that there are times when I take for granted “how easy” (“easy” and “consistent” being relative terms) it seems to be to live a life that includes commitment to Christ and a local church. I remember the first time I taught / preached on a Sunday night at Rockledge. I remember my Dad coming up to me afterwards and expressing how proud he was of me. I told him thanks but I didn’t think what I had just done was especially (not take it easy on me Greg, Randy, Steve, Puck, Keith, Brady, and John – I was as my neighbor would say, “young and dumb”) difficult. This probably came from the fact that I had been teaching for a couple of years and was familiar with being in front of folks and speaking.

I’ll never forget what my Dad told me. He looked at me with 20-something years of military experience eyes, forgave his son for being somewhat stupid, and said, “Son, everyone can’t do what you just did. It is a gift to be treasured and used properly.”

That memory came back to me last Wednesday night. We were discussing our latest lesson from the “Secrets of the Vine” video. One of our members told of a time that he felt God was disciplining him for living an un-Godly life. He said that he used to live in a dingy one room upstairs apartment that is some what across the street from our church. He said he could remember thinking that although our church building was just across the street from his place, he said it felt like it was hundred’s of miles away and that there would never be any hope of someone like him even stepping foot inside our church. Now this man is a brother in Christ and he is actively trying to grow spiritually each day. Like all of us he is a work in progress.

It made me wonder who else out there is “just across the street” without hope. My prayer is for God to use me to reach out to someone that is so close and yet so far away.

Have a good day family.