Last Tuesday night I was getting ready to leave work to go to the Life Group. I had just enough time to watch a video clip that someone emailed me. It is a powerful one on forgiveness. Check it out. http://www.faithvisuals.com/content/worshipfilms/forgivenmuch.html
Just as I was about to leave, I got a call from the front office that someone had dropped in to the church needing someone to talk to. From experience, it is usually someone needing money and with all our support staff gone, I had no way of being able to help except from my own pocket.
It was one of those times in which you know what you should do but you don't really have time because you have not allowed for any. I had a Life Group meeting to go to after all. But it was obvious that God had spoken to me through the video so it was an easy decision to help the man.
It turned out the person needing money was a man who used to attend Grace Point. He was being helped by someone named brother Dave three years ago. He was running from the law at that time and brother Dave had convinced him to turn himself in. That was three years ago and now he had just gotten out of prison a few days earlier. He needed $80 to be able to stay in his duplex (his wife had fallen way behind on payments) and his parole officer was coming by the next day at the duplex to see him. We talked about his relationship with Christ and I took him up to the men's group meeting which he said he used to attend. I called his landlord and then wrote him the check for the money he owed. I was really thankful that I could help the man and so I had a great time of celebration and worship with Christ on the way to the Life Group. I got there a little late but not too late to miss the lesson which just so happened to be on total surrender to Christ and used the same scripture that the video is based on, Luke 7:41-47 ( about the sinful woman who used precious oil poured on Jesus' head).
We learned that surrender comes from a deep love of God and a willingness to trust Him. It can manifest in a total attitude of worship like the sinful woman. For me surrender to Christ was a simple act of obedience to God to reach out to someone who was hurting in the midst of the my hectic schedule. Surrender comes in many forms but always results in meeting Christ in some way.
By the way I saw him again at church two days later and he was back in the duplex and had met with his parole officer. He said he was coming this Sunday to church and he was so thankful we had helped him. I'm really glad I chose to help him and didn't let my buPublish Postsyness rule.