Reset

I had lunch yesterday with another fellow who I have known for quite a few years. He emailed me to let me know God was really doing something in him and I can never spend enough time with people like that. While I was excited to meet with him and hear his testimony, I was not prepared for the radical transformation I would see in this guy. While he physically looked pretty much the same, I'm not sure I've witnessed such a spiritual overhaul in a person in my life. If I've seen such a change, it's been the metamorphosis of a person from a non-believer to a Christ-follower. This is a change from a spiritual infant to an on-fire, completely focused on God fighter. He has had to overcome a church culture of religiosity, law, hypocrisy and a family situation that was equally fake and screwed up. The divorce of his parents drove him from both the church and the family to a much healthier culture where honesty and transparency are expected. This "crushing" also drove him to the Lord in dependence - probably for the first time in his life. He is quick to admit his lack of growth and clearly lays the blame on himself (and nobody else - refreshing). You can also sense his humility when he talks about how he's making spiritual strides - as if, when the words leave his mouth, they sound too prideful to him, so he wants to take them back and restate it another way.

One reason I love this story is that it is not complete yet and it is still messy. He has done major damage to his marriage relationship and things there are not put back together. The possibility exists that it may never be repaired - although I'm thinking it can. He also has lost relationship with some of his closest friends who still exist in his old world and probably cannot understand him - it's always the church people who have the most problems with people living radically for Christ. We always like the nice testimony of rags to riches and want to watch the guy ride off into the spiritual sunset to a new life where he never struggles anymore and everyday is nothing but victory after obedient victory. That just doesn't really happen too much. I'm crazy encouraged by the struggle he's in right now. While divorce never seems like a good idea, there's a small part of me that is grateful for his parents' divorce if God used it to draw him to Himself. Only God brings something so great out of something so bad.

As I sat there, I kept thinking, "he should change his name." I say that because I have always loved the practice found in the Bible where God changes your name (Abram - Abraham; Sarai - Sarah; Cephas - Peter; Saul - Paul). This guy has been changed and everything about him (inside) is new. It's like he hit his head, jarred something in his brain, and when he awoke, he was changed (like pressing the reset button). I may make up a name for him and just call him that from here on out. He'll think it's weird, but every time I call him by the new name, he'll remember that he is NOT who he used to be.

Getting to see this kind of life change up close and personal (not read in a book or hear some preacher story) is SUCH a gift - and one that doesn't happen very often. I say "gift," because I felt like God had given me something that was such a blessing. In ministry, you don't often get to see the fruit of your labor. In Student ministry, this is really true. Many times, a kid will come alive to the things of Christ in college and you don't get to witness it. This guy I'm telling you about was in the youth group when I was a youth pastor and was also in a small group I had with some of the older guys. We met for over 2 hours for lunch and I could've stayed there for 10. All this to say, I am propelled by this encounter from yesterday's lunch. I am in strong agreement with Romans 1:16 that says the gospel has power.