Living Forward

12/30/12             Scott                    about 30

I was at the neighborhood gym for a workout before church, when in walked Scott, a young man I haven’t seen for over ten years since he attended the youth center I used to run.  I remember him as a decent kid, not given to profanity and always very respectful of others.  We talked a while, catching up on old times, and I reminded him of the Gospel talks we used to give at the youth group meetings.  “What did you think of all that, what did it mean to you?  Where are you at with God now at this point in life?”  I’d love to report that it changed his life, that he is now a Christian and actively involved in church and in reaching out to others.  He is not.  However, he hasn’t been actively rebelling against God either.  Instead, he seems to be in a sort of spiritual holding pattern, in which he outwardly respects the things of God but does nothing to pursue them.  “Outside of not going to church, I think God would say I’m a good person.  I lie now and then, but that’s about it” he said in response to my questions about how he has followed the Ten Commandments.  And for the most part, I believe him, but I also know that there is really no such thing as a spiritual holding pattern for anything more than a season.  The fact is, Scott is stuck in his sin, comfortable with it because he is a relatively decent sort of fellow compared to others, but he is on the wide road to destruction just the same.  So I told him, “You know the Ten Commandments aren’t multiple choice.  Even if you only break one of them, you are rebelling against God, and He will hold you accountable.”  I went on to share about salvation by faith in Christ.  It can be scary to jeopardize an old friendship with such hard truths, but Scott was very open to the conversation.  I said “I know this is hard to hear, but I had to tell you”.  “Don’t worry about it”, he answered.  “It’s not something I talk about every day, but I needed to hear it”.  Of course I wish Scott had “heard it” and come to faith in Christ years ago.  These last ten years could have been a time of great growth in his relationship with God.  He still needs salvation, but that is only the beginning of God’s sanctifying work in our lives, and we have no time to lose. But life can only be lived going forward.  As we near the end of 2012, it might help to look back the year, but only if it helps us plot a better course moving forward.  “And we all, who with unveiled faces contemplate the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his image with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.” (2 Cor.3:18)