A friend recently said something along these lines to me, “Don’t get me wrong but sometimes I’m a little jealous of people like you who have a strong redemption story.” We went on to discuss how I envied his story, one of choosing the better path instead of one that often led to pain and even destruction. Yet, my path is my story and my story is one that I already see God using because in all my bad decisions, I still had faith that God was going to use me somehow.
I read Hebrews 11, stories of people who had great faith and think I would never be listed with them. Noah, Abraham, Isaac, Moses, David, Rahab; people of a deeper faith than I imagine myself possessing but I look at my life and know I couldn’t have survived without faith. I have done things that often leave me surprised I’m still walking this earth but here I am. Why? Why did God choose Noah to build the ark? Why did God give Abraham a son after Abraham took matters into his own hands? Why did God allow David to remain a king after David killed Uriah? I think the answer partially lies in the fact that these people still maintained faith in God. I think there’s another part of the answer also - God never lost faith in his children.
I have broken most of the “rules” for being a good Christian. I have sinned in multiple ways and yet God didn’t strike me dead. I have spent years loving the idea of God but not loving him with all my heart and soul yet God didn’t walk away. He maintained his faith in me and always hoped I would come back to him. As I’ve wondered many times why I’m still alive, I can’t help but think that through it all, I never lost faith that God was God, the Lord. Today, I’m starting to reap the benefits of that faith. I’m starting to see how God is using my poor decisions from the past to reach others who think God can’t love them and who won’t love themselves and belief that God is running to them, arms wide open, ready to embrace the one who will come home.
The story of my unending faith in God is a good story. The story of God’s overwhelming faith in me is a story of redemption and reconciliation with my Savior, the greatest story I can ever imagine.
Grace and peace to you.
Jeff Jones
Decatur, Texas
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