Then he calls his friends and neighbors together and says, ‘Rejoice with me; I have found my lost sheep.’ 7I tell you that in the same way there will be more rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who do not need to repent. Luke 15:6,7
(I thought, perhaps, I should start at the beginning, but then that scene in Goonies came flooding back to my memory. All I could hear was Chunk saying, ‘In the third grade…’ So, I’ll make the intro quick.)
(I thought, perhaps, I should start at the beginning, but then that scene in Goonies came flooding back to my memory. All I could hear was Chunk saying, ‘In the third grade…’ So, I’ll make the intro quick.)
I grew up in church–every Sunday of my life. It’s what the Rankin family did—we worshiped together as a family. Not to mislead you, I loved church. I knew from an early age that Jesus had died on the cross for my sins and that God had sent Jesus because He loved me. My devoted Sunday School teachers helped us memorize Scripture; they told the stories of Jesus and all those Old Testament dudes in a way that I understood; and those teachers cared for me and I knew it!
However, there was a time in my teenaged life that I rejected the teachings of my parents and the church. Actually, in my heart and head I knew the ‘way that leads to life’ but my actions were definitely falling into the ‘wages of sin is death’ category. I fooled myself into thinking that my family and my church family didn’t know what was going on in my life. Somehow I managed to shove the Holy Spirit into a backroom for a while. But then…
In the summer of 1995, I spent a week in San Marcos, Texas doing home repair-type work with my church youth group. We had been going to Texas for years, so I felt fairly sure that I knew what to expect. As usual, Thursday nights were reserved for an ‘all-camp’ worship gathering at a local church. We sang songs, did some praying, and then heard a word from a guest pastor. Still today, I have difficulty telling you exactly what happened. That ‘usual’ day became very ‘unusual’ for me. For whatever reason, my heart heard anew the Gospel of our Risen Savior, Jesus. I felt like Saul/Paul during his conversion experience. No one else seemed to hear or feel the beckoning of the Holy Spirit, but I sure did! That night, all of those hours that my parents, Sunday School teachers, and whoever else had invested in my spiritual life were cashed in. At that moment, every ‘Jesus Loves Me,’ every ‘John 3:16,’ every ‘Lord’s Prayer’ that was sung, recited, or prayed over me became my footing. I had finally realized for myself that Jesus loved-wanted-accepted-forgave even ‘a wretch like me.’
I may never know all the people who were used by the Lord to bring me into a saving relationship with Him, but I thank God often for them. My only hope is that God would allow me to be a small piece of that same equation in others lives–not for my own glory, but to the Glory of the One who saved my soul. ‘To Him that sits on the throne and unto the Lamb: be all blessing and honor and glory and power forever!”
(Sidenote: The little sheep up at the top is ‘Shaun the Sheep’ then I totally recommend googling it. He’s my favorite!)
However, there was a time in my teenaged life that I rejected the teachings of my parents and the church. Actually, in my heart and head I knew the ‘way that leads to life’ but my actions were definitely falling into the ‘wages of sin is death’ category. I fooled myself into thinking that my family and my church family didn’t know what was going on in my life. Somehow I managed to shove the Holy Spirit into a backroom for a while. But then…
In the summer of 1995, I spent a week in San Marcos, Texas doing home repair-type work with my church youth group. We had been going to Texas for years, so I felt fairly sure that I knew what to expect. As usual, Thursday nights were reserved for an ‘all-camp’ worship gathering at a local church. We sang songs, did some praying, and then heard a word from a guest pastor. Still today, I have difficulty telling you exactly what happened. That ‘usual’ day became very ‘unusual’ for me. For whatever reason, my heart heard anew the Gospel of our Risen Savior, Jesus. I felt like Saul/Paul during his conversion experience. No one else seemed to hear or feel the beckoning of the Holy Spirit, but I sure did! That night, all of those hours that my parents, Sunday School teachers, and whoever else had invested in my spiritual life were cashed in. At that moment, every ‘Jesus Loves Me,’ every ‘John 3:16,’ every ‘Lord’s Prayer’ that was sung, recited, or prayed over me became my footing. I had finally realized for myself that Jesus loved-wanted-accepted-forgave even ‘a wretch like me.’
I may never know all the people who were used by the Lord to bring me into a saving relationship with Him, but I thank God often for them. My only hope is that God would allow me to be a small piece of that same equation in others lives–not for my own glory, but to the Glory of the One who saved my soul. ‘To Him that sits on the throne and unto the Lamb: be all blessing and honor and glory and power forever!”
(Sidenote: The little sheep up at the top is ‘Shaun the Sheep’ then I totally recommend googling it. He’s my favorite!)
RSS Feed
