Standing in the baptismal, the man shared that though he had been living a life of sin, he knew God had been with him though it all. As he gave his testimony, this prodigal son reminded me of so many of us who have given our lives to the Lord and yet squandered the time living lascivious lives that should have been spent in serving and loving Him. This young man reminded me that while we are in the midst of our own pig pen, the Lord never leaves us or forsakes us.
No matter where one is in life, we need to do a spiritual audit to truly see how we are doing. One never knows when that next phone call will be the doctor or the police calling with devastating news, but when those storms hit, we have a Savior who will be there immediately when we cry out to him.
Our brother who was baptized this morning has stage four cancer. He is only 31. He called the church looking for a place to be baptized. He shared that he is a believer but had strayed for many years. Today, we had the honor of witnessing his baptism, loving on and praying for his healing and his family, as they are in the midst of a horrific disease.
God is bigger than anything this life may hit us with, He may choose to heal this man, but ultimately the most important healing has occurred, the restoration of his relationship to God.
Our scripture this week is found in John 8, where Jesus continues to talk with the Pharisees and the Jews. He speaks the truth, yet they cannot comprehend it and He warns them that where He is going, they will not be able to follow, due to their unbelief.
Then Jesus said to them again, “I am going away, and you will seek Me, and will die in your sin. Where I go you cannot come.”
22 So the Jews said, “Will He kill Himself, because He says, ‘Where I go you cannot come’?”
23 And He said to them, “You are from beneath; I am from above. You are of this world; I am not of this world. 24 Therefore I said to you that you will die in your sins; for if you do not believe that I am He, you will die in your sins.”
Some however believe and He tells them,
Then Jesus said to those Jews who believed Him, “If you abide in My word, you are My disciples indeed. 32 And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.”
One day each of us will come face to face with our own mortality. We can either know where we are going, because we have accepted Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior and have been freed from the chains of sin and death, or we will not be able to follow Him because we have refused to believe. Our brother stood before us today, testifying that he believes in the Lord Jesus Christ and knows that he is saved. No matter what happens to his body, whether God sees fit to heal him of cancer, or brings him home, he has the assurance that he will meet Jesus in heaven.
What about you? Are you living in the freedom of Jesus?