I had a random recall today that took me back to almost three years ago. I don't know really where this is going, but I recall how important this was at the time.
Do you remember where, when and what you were doing when you heard news that Michael Jackson had passed away? I was at home watching the news and the time stamp that marked my mind when the news broke was 3:15 pm. It was not anything momentous at the time, except to say that like the rest of the world, I was mesmerized.
In what seemed like a split second a mass of thoughts flooded my mind:
-this man had left an indelible mark on the world and across generations of listeners.
-his world was rocked by scandle as he was accursed of sexual activity with small children.
-he had such a troubled life that could not be resisted (like watching a train wreck happening).
....and so on.
And as I sat there with my rapid fire thoughts, I found myself judging and even condemning the man as if I had room to point. And at that same time, God dealt directly with my heart. I felt strongly impressed to look up John 3:15 (matching the time).
Well sure, that should be easy enough, right?!? I certainly was familiar with the passage of Nicodemus visiting Jesus at night and had memorized John 3:16 at an early age...but what was this about. So I grabbed my Bible and opened to the verse. What happened next both humbled me and cause me to call out for forgiveness. The verse reads:
Wow...okay, now God had my attention. I was shocked! And immediately came an impression, "What is it to you if I choose to save Michael Jackson in the final moments?". And I became completely compelled to believe that in the final minutes of life that Jesus had interacted with Michael with such love and compassion as to have saved him. And that Michael, may have called out in his dying breath for God to save him. I do not truly know, but Father God is a pretty big God.
I'm still stunned when I think about it.
Jesus made it clear in scripture that it was the sick that needed him, not that he had come to call the unrighteousness to repentance...Luke 5:32. And as dramatically, Jesus interacted with a dying thief, while he hung on a cross and promised him life in paradise. Wow!
So what's my point? Simply this...
There are a lot of wounded people around us that need to know the light of His presence. And it could very well be that words, love, influence and relationship could be making it possible for us to impact someone else for eternity. It would be easy to judge and conclude what we see in the natural, but we might be surprised by what God hears and sees in the heart.
Thank you Father for grace!
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