All Have Sinned

Well, I ran into an old friend today. He hadn’t changed much, a bit older, a little faded looking, as thin as I remember. I looked at him and noticed he wasn’t smiling much, he seemed a little sad, but I remember he had a good heart; he just needed a little guidance. I can remember hearing him say how lonely he was, how lost he had become, and how he did not really fit in anywhere, or with anyone. I knew he was depressed in the past, and his outlook on life was not very positive; kind of a sad soul with a smile on the outside, but crying on the inside. I know he used to pray, but I can remember him praying more about worldly things rather than spiritual things. His quantity of friends was more important to him than the quality of the friendship. I had to smirk at him, and think, “you know life is much better living in Christ.” I wanted to shake him and tell him I wished he would snap out of it, It was going to be okay, he would find Christ, and Christ would find him; and life would be everything he desired in his heart. Then it came time to let him go…. See, he was a Christian man, but not necessarily a God fearing man. He had a good heart, but he put it towards pleasing man, and not pleasing God. It was nice to see him, but it was also nice to see him go. Sometimes I miss him, the young him, but I would not want to be him that day. And then I put the old picture of myself away. You know, I find it amazing to look at pictures of myself and know where I was, who I wanted to be but did not know how to be that way. I knew people were happy, and I wanted that too……. Interestingly enough, I thought happiness came from a paycheck, acceptance, a multitude of friends, and not from a price that had already been paid long before I was born, and on the cross. I can’t express enough to people who seem lost, how much joy can be found through trusting, and following God; walking by Faith in him, and praising him. Things I thought were impossible, are simple; parts of my life that seem crazy, make sense; relationships that seem trying, are only growing stronger. Romans 3:23-26 (NIV) “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and all are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus. God presented Christ as a sacrifice of atonement,[a] through the shedding of his blood—to be received by faith. He did this to demonstrate his righteousness, because in his forbearance he had left the sins committed beforehand unpunished—he did it to demonstrate his righteousness at the present time, so as to be just and the one who justifies those who have faith in Jesus.” I pray my pictures today show the life and light of Jesus Christ through me, and I pray I share, and demonstrate that God’s GRACE is as life transforming for everyone, as much as it has been for me. –KV