Hope of the Gospel

March 10th

I think it was March tenth when I met the man I am about to speak about. I got up to get someone a glass of water or a napkin and Patrick asked me point blank, ‘are you a Christian?’ When I said yes he told me I was lucky. I paused for a moment but had no words and eventually continued on with the current task. When I returned I asked him why he thought I was lucky. He said something like, I was saved, or I had everything sorted out. I asked him if he was a Christian and he said no. He said he had done too many bad things, he had been told that he was evil. I quickly told him that it wasn’t about what he did but what God had done for him. I delivered a God inspired, impassioned proclamation, of what the gospel was. I told him that I believed that God already had his heart and was drawing him in. You could see in his eyes he genuinely wanted to believe he could be a Christian but a lie was standing in the way. He then told me that he had asked Jesus to be in his heart a while ago.

It dawns on me now that while he stopped believing that he was living in Jesus that Jesus had not stopped living in him. This man, who likely slept on the cold ground and was about to have his first meal of the day, was not angry or argumentative. He was meek sincere, and attentive.

He told me that he had a problem with the pipe and that he wanted to stop. I told him there were places that would give him a place to stay, food to eat, addiction counseling, and biblical education. He began to have hope and he asked me to help him.

I was disheartened that I had forgotten my book of numbers and that I had not recorded the numbers in my phone (something I have rectified since). I was also disappointed at the lack of resources that Potters had for those seeking recovery. It made me feel that our purpose was more palliative then ever. Eventually I gave Patrick my personal number and the number to resurrection house. I told him he would have to keep calling every day to show that he was serious about recovery. He was concerned because he had done recovery before but when he relapsed they wouldn’t take him back. I believe relapse is part of the process of recovery just as sin and repentance are part of the process of sanctification. Jesus says we must forgive 77 times meaning if the sinner\relapsee is willing then we are to be forgiven and taken back into the fold. I have a hard time not praying for Patrick each day. My prayer is that he will find a recovery program that loves him a supports him and teaches him about the truth of the gospel.

I was overjoyed seeing the power of the gospel coming from my lips and seeing it have instant effect in the widening eyes of Patrick. I praised the Lord till my eyes closed for allowing me to participate in sharing his great love and glory to another brother.