When I arrived he couldn’t stand still, his thoughts were all over the place…..
He spoke of peace but then his ability to fight and how in times past he had no problem stabbing people.
He praised God and then started swearing.
Sweat poured off him as his emotions changed with each passing second and I wondered if I would be safe around him.
This is a description of a man I saw this week at the prison. His words came so fast that I knew I should just settle in an listen because we were going to be a while. He was intense but I had worked with people like him before and I knew I should just wait and see if he was going to slow down. I have learned that sometimes such people will exhaust themselves or eventually model the quietness you are exuding…so I waited and was quiet. As I listened to him he told me he was a Christian. He talked about God and bible studies, and the fellowship he had with other Christians in the prison. He was quoting God’s word but then he was on to the next random thought that demonstrated he was not too well controlled. I started thinking – I wonder if he would respond to scripture if I shared some with him. I said to myself, “No way, he is too energized, he is too distracted.” But I waited. Then I found myself saying, “This man is not a Christian, not with thoughts like this. God’s word will have no effect on him – he is too far gone from the things of God.” But I waited…and he started talking about his anxiety and I decided I would try it….to share a scripture with Him…so I did. He calmed down…a lot. Then we spoke more about God’s word, and he became very emotional. He started saying to me that he really needed this (hearing God’s word from me) and then he started praising God. He calmed down some more. He talked about different ways he could cope with what was going on and how he could adjust well and he was comforted and we parted ways.
What is my point in sharing this story? I share it because I ruled him out. I saw him beyond the reach of God and His word. I listened to his words and considered his heart and said, “Nope…not getting in.” I was wrong. I did it again. I underestimated the power of God’s word. I looked too much at what was around me and did not consider enough He who is greater than anything or anyone in the world. I am sharing this with you because I know we all count people out. We all figure that “they” are not the type of people who would really have an interest in the things of God. Jesus did not respond that way to the lost, or the rejected, or the….poorly controlled.
I thank God for His mercy and grace to us. We are imperfect – we carry around his treasure in fragile containers that demonstrate that whatever power that seems to come from us is really from Him.
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I didn’t have much to offer the man I described this week…but God did. He offered the man his word, and to my surprise, it penetrated.
Let’s not count anyone outside of God’s grace. God doesn’t.
For Him,
Rob