When I am not at work, you can usually find me at the church building working on videos or music projects. It’s almost a second job for me, a job that I love so much I do for free! Last night was no different. I spent my whole afternoon and up until the late evening there. I enjoy it. It helps me to decompress and puts a smile on my face.
As I was walking through the building last night, I heard our Celebrate Recovery group worshiping in the auditorium. I saw an older man, wearing ragged clothes, maybe even homeless, and he was leading them in the song “Mighty to Save.” Our celebrate recovery group is a ministry that helps those who are dealing with addictions to recover. Many of the people who come are homeless or were homeless and many were addicted to drugs and/or alcohol. While I watched this man sing this song, it really had an impact on me. And he sang the words:
“Savior, He can move the mountains,
My God is mighty to save
He is mighty to save
Forever, author of salvation
He came and conquered the grave
Jesus conquered the grave.”
His voice wasn’t perfect. He didn’t have really nice clothes or even a nice haircut. So what made it so special to me? I could see his face while he was singing and he was worshiping God with everything he had. It was beautiful. I began to think of the life he had once lived, and where he was going to sleep that night. I don’t know his story. But here is a man who has probably been through hell and back. He probably has seen horrible things in his lifetime. And yet here he is, singing to God like the most blessed man in the world. He realized that God is mighty to save…even him.
It reminds me of when Jesus is sitting at a table and a girl walks in and begins to cry at Jesus’ feet. All the while the priests around him are thinking, “what is he doing with her? Doesn’t he know who she is?” She was probably a prostitute. But Jesus heard their thoughts (I wish I could do that sometimes). And He tells them a parable about 2 people in debt, and how one owed very little and the other owed a whole lot and both were cleared of their debts. He then asks them which one they thought would be more thankful. Of course the one who owed more would have been more thankful.
Sometimes I can get wrapped up in my little world of work and church and money and life, and I can sometimes put God and his grace on the back burner and forget about it for a while. I can forget how blessed I am. I can sometimes focus on the things that are wrong in my life rather than the fact that the God who made the heavens and the earth loves me enough to sacrifice His son for me.
A man who just might live on the streets taught me an important message last night. Gods grace is large enough to cover everything we have ever done, and if I can just focus on Him and his amazing love, then nothing else in this world would matter, because when it comes down to it, it’s all about God, not about me.
The Journey 