I used to know this terrible man. He was an evil man, and he lived for himself. He used manipulation, abuse, fear, and violence to control people and situations around him in his favor all the time. He had to have everything his way all the time, no matter what. He engaged in self gratifying pleasures that were self destructive, and destructive to his loved ones. He lied. He stole. He hurt people and loved ones.
Somewhere, a long time ago, he drifted from the path the Lord had planned out for his life. He held great animosity towards the Lord for a very long time, and disrespected Him, shunned Him, and defied Him. He even used the Lord as a tool of manipulation when it seemed necessary to him. He spent a life time abusing drugs and people. He was constantly in trouble and crisis. He cared about nothing but satisfying himself in every way, especially when it came to abusing his mind and body with foreign substances. His mind was clouded and corrupt. His morals were depreciated and forgotten. He was the kind of man that you didn't want to be around and associate with. He could not be trusted for anything aside from conflict. A broken and lost soul. I knew this man. He was an ugly monster. For years and years I fought with this man. I tried to reach him and turn him from his ways. Make him aware of his actions, and reveal the fact that he needed to take responsibility for those actions. I tried to show him how important it was to make amends and earn the respect and love of his peers, but this man, he didn't listen. He mocked me, and shunned me, and forced me out. His evil was over powering and strong. He radiated with hate and rage. He was the most volatile individual I had ever known.
What ever happened to that man? Surely he died a well deserved death, or finally became incarcerated for the remainder of his life, as is where the road he walked usually takes a person.
However, that man is not dead, and he is not incarcerated, not anymore. I found that man recently. He is different. He is changed. He is full of love and joy. He is wise and most importantly, he is humbled. The arrogance that used to permeate from his very soul is no longer there.
He has spent months and months coming to terms with things he has done, and the person he had become. Events in his life the last year has brought him to a dead end. He reached rock bottom and could lower himself no further. There was only one way for him to go. Up. Up and out of the pit that he had spent his entire life digging. But how? How did this man climb out of that pit, and where did he find the strength to over power that evil man who had been in his place. Where did he find the power to leave that lost soul down at the bottom of the pit, and find the will to climb out of it anew?
The answer is simple. He found God again. He returned home, weakened, beaten, afraid, and alone, and God lifted him up, and healed him, and forgave him of his many, many sins. I see this man everyday now. The positivity that flows from him is over whelming.
He is enduring trials, and he is sustaining his faith in his Saviour. His life has changed dramatically. I can say that he is no longer doomed, and that his future in the after life is secured. He spends his days praying, and learning, and he is patiently waiting on God to finish the work that has begun inside of him, and is eager for God to reveal his intended path. He is confident, he is strong, and he is still evolving into the kind of man that you would want to be around, and listen to.
Sounds to good to be true, doesn't it? But it is. People can change. Whether they were born bad, or, like this man, they lost their way somewhere in a time and period forgotten and transformed into something terrible, it doesn't matter. Whatever they may have done, whomever they have hurt, there is always hope. They just have to want to make a difference in their life and change, and they have to know where to turn.
Counseling and begging and love alone are not enough. It requires the great and mighty power of the Lord, and a willingness to accept Him in to your heart.
I know what you are thinking. That this is ridiculous. You have probably known people like this man, and none of them had ever changed. They may have appeared to change (as this man "appeared" to do at many different stages) but they always seem to revert, or they learn to hide their true colors very well. But this is a recipe for disaster, sure to end with their destruction. Unless, unless something intervenes and changes the course. This is what God can do. I know this for a fact to be true, because I have experienced it first hand, because you see, this man I knew then, and the man I know now, well, he is me. Yours truly.
That's right. I was the monster. The demon infected vessel of a human being. So trust me when I tell you there is hope, and their is a way out, and it is a solid way. It can not be broken or destroyed. The power of God is unmatched by nothing. He is the greatest god of all. Higher in the heavens than all, and deeper in the lands. There is no other like Him. His power is absolute. His wisdom is incomprehensible. He knows all. He sees all. He feels all. He is the maker, and the destroyer. His wraith is unlike any force ever encountered in the universe. His love is larger and stronger than anything you can possibly imagine. He is mighty. He is Holy.
Repentance is the only price you have to pay. Confess your sins. Accept the truth about Jesus Christ, and accept Him into your heart.
It doesn't matter who you are, what kind of person you are, or what you have done. The gift of salvation and internal peace is free and available to all. Absorb God's word. Practice the values learned from it. Secure the life of your soul in the after life.
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