One Friday night, I was sitting with about fifty other people who hailed from Maryland, Massachusetts, Connecticut, New York, Virginia, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania. The group dispensed with small talk and broached subjects close to their hearts: concern for loved ones, need for jobs, and the difficulty of living wisely.
Then the evening speaker began, “They picked the wrong person for this job. I don’t like testimonial speeches because they tend to sound like this: ‘My life used to be as screwed up as yours, but now I have it all together and you should too.’ All I can say is my life is as screwed up as yours. Probably even more so.”
This was obviously not a meeting of Toastmasters; just another Friday night at LifePath Christian Ministries.
By way of introduction, the speaker explained, “I was born in a housing project. I never knew my father. I got kicked out of junior high school and vocational school. I did drugs. Lots of drugs. When I was in prison, my mom slipped me valium during her visits. I stabbed myself in the stomach to get out of prison sooner, but I got sent right back.”
The speaker explained that he had previously rejected Christianity, figuring, “I’m not so bad, and God’s not so mad.” He had thought of the Christian life as a sort of prison. When he was actually in prison, however, the kindness of Christ broke him. “God’s kindness is meant to lead you to repentance” (Romans 2:4).
Addressing people who, like him, had lost jobs, homes, and marriages because of addictions, the speaker talked of the beauty of grace: “Christ paid our debts. I am an accountant. At least I used to be. I understand the value of paying off someone else’s debts. How did I get Christ to pay off the debt I owed to a holy God for my sin? Just by believing! What did it cost me? Nothing. And everything.”
The speaker continued, “Now I’m committed to Christ. Well, sort of. But I keep turning back to drugs and deceit: ‘As a dog returns to its vomit, so a fool repeats his folly’ (Proverbs 26:11). I am learning that ‘Those who cling to worthless idols forfeit the grace that could be theirs’ (Jonah 2:8). I am turning to God instead of my worthless idol of drugs, and I’m receiving grace to believe the Bible when it says, ‘No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it’ (1 Corinthians 10:13). I am realizing that, no matter how badly I screw up, Christ’s love for me remains constant. Despite my habitual sins, Christ cannot love me more. And Christ will not love me less.”
He went on, “God has restored me, but it cost me an arm and a leg. Actually, just an arm. ‘Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows’ (Galatians 6:7). Some people learn quickly. Others are slow learners. My mom used to say I never learned at all.”
I wanted to jump to my feet and yell, “Not so!” For this speaker, bent and broken, arm hanging useless at his side, had not only learned, but was also teaching me, of Jesus who said: “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls” (Matthew 11:28-29).
After the speaker told his story, listeners shared their stories over dinner. One man spoke of forgiving the person who knifed him and left intersecting horizontal and vertical scars on his chest in the shape of a cross. He bears on his body, and in his soul, the mark of Christ. I rejoiced with a man who had just been made new by Christ; I have forgotten the exact lyrics of his story, but the tune of his joy still rings in my heart.
In York that night, fans were cheering for the York Revolution; groups were going around the world in 80 minutes at Escape Games Live; and Christ was rescuing people. Just another Friday night in the City of York.