Tim
Tim is a white man in his fifties. He is a man I do not know very well, but he would eagerly come to the services. One night, during prayer request time, he requested prayer for his daughter who was soon to have a baby. There were possibilities of complications and so we prayed for the whole family. I kept note of the prayer request and prayed throughout the week. When I came back the following week, I inquired about his daughter, and let him know that I had been praying. That simple gesture went a long way, I think, in making my way into his heart.
Last week, as I entered the mission, passing by the men sitting outside, smoking, I saw Tim and greeted him as he was talking on the phone. He did not look well. He did not have the sparkle in his eye that had been there before. I did not see him again until the service. I preached on Isaiah 53—the Suffering Servant. It was actually the second sermon on that Servant Song since it is fairly long and so packed with huge theological truths. My part of the text focused on the death of the Servant, Jesus, and what that death accomplished—our payment for sin, our righteousness, and our inheritance. In short, the text most naturally gave the Gospel message—that sin separates us from a holy God, but through Christ, we are made righteous to enter into His presence.
Tim was the first one to come up to talk to me after the service, and he had tears in his eyes. He said, “I won’t be seeing you anymore, Jake” as his voice broke. I did something terrible, and they are going to put me out.” He explained, but did not give detail, about how he had an altercation with a staff member and did things too awful to name. “I’ll never forget you, Jake. I mean that. You mean a lot to me.”
I was sad that one slip-up could have such drastic consequences. I imagine the mission had every right, and even the duty to put him out. Tim did not seem to blame the mission for their action. He knew that what he did was detestable.
I reminded him what I had said in the sermon, “That if you confess your sin, He is faithful and righteous to forgive you your sin, and to cleanse you from all unrighteousness.” I prayed there with him. I prayed that the Lord would direct him to where he would go next. I prayed that the Lord would forgive him and give him strength to walk in righteousness.
Frankly, I was a bit taken off-guard by the situation, but wish I had warned him about the temptations ahead. I don’t know what brought him to the mission. My guess would be that his family was destroyed by alcoholism and his flashes of anger. I wish I had warned him against going back to his life of sin—I wish I had said, with Jesus, “Go and sin no more.”
The Gospel of Jesus Christ is going forward. But there are cases in which it takes a few steps forward, and then a step back in the lives of these men.
Tim is a sad case. It is almost a parable of the effects of sin. Sin had separated him from the place he most desired to be, and the place which could support him in ways it seems many other missions may not. There was a palpable and very real consequence for his sin. I pray that he heard the words I preached. Even though he has worldly consequences for his sin, the payment for sin is made for the one who offers the Guilt Offering of the Lord Jesus Christ in faith. I pray that the Lord will lead him to a place of healing.
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