The Everyday Club

8/12/11     Joe,     about 60
"Anything but Jesus" seemed to be Joe's motto, whom Jim (from church) and I met today as walked by him on the sidewalk and he sat in his front patio. He was very open to talking about spiritual things when I asked him, and he initially said that he was Catholic. When asked how he could be sure of heaven, he talked of confessing his sins and receiving forgiveness, but leaving out any reference to belief in Jesus. When I tried to explain why repentence needs to be coupled with faith in Jesus, Joe began talking about other spiritual pathways he has been exploring such as reincarnation and Buddhism. I wondered later with Jim why I had failed to personalize Joe's sin through exposure to some of the Ten Commandments, and I now think it was his talk of his own sin and need to confess that threw me off. His faith was in his own work of confession, but the Bible clearly states that “The kingdom of God has come near. Repent and believe the good news!” (Mark 1:14-16)