Members of The Body

4/10/13              Freddie             50

I reached out to a man named Freddy at McDonalds, who told me he believes that he will be reincarnated as another human being after he dies, and that he probably had a life before this one.  I asked “Did you grow up with any sort of religious upbringing?”  He said he had, that he had grown up in a holiness church, so I asked “When did you veer away from the faith you grew up in?”  He seemed shocked at this, assuring me he still believes in Jesus and had been baptized on seven separate occasions in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, and that he knew for sure he is good enough to go to heaven.  With this sort of background I knew he had a lot of religious baggage that would be confusing to sort through.  Where to begin?  I began with a short analogy:  “You say you believe in Jesus.  Well, some people say they believe in parachutes, but if they jump out of a plane without one, yet say they believe in them all the way down, they will still hit the ground just as fast.  They need to put the parachute on, and we need to put Jesus on in our lives, like a parachute we need to trust in Him and nothing else.”  Freddie saw my point, so I continued.  “You say you are good enough for heaven.  Well, let me give you a short ‘good person’ test to see if you really are good enough.”  He agreed that since he has told lies, he is a liar; since he has stolen he is a thief; since he has misused God’s name he is a blasphemer; and that according to Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount he would be a murderer and adulterer because of his angry words and lustful thoughts.  I emphasized the truth that no amount of time or good behavior can erase this guilt, and that God demands a just consequence for his sin.  As I made these various points, Freddie readily agreed, freely confessing his guilt and need for the sacrifice for his sins that Jesus had made on the cross.  It came so naturally to him that – I may be wrong but its not for me to decide – I believe Freddy is a believer who has seriously drifted from the truths of the faith.  He admitted he rarely attends church and reads his Bible only sporadically, so I encouraged him to get back into fellowship with other believers and back into regularly reading God’s Word. It can be discouraging to see how far believers can drift from the faith.  I sometimes wonder why the Holy Spirit can’t or doesn’t sustain them.   But God didn’t create us to live in isolation.  He wants us to deepen our relationships with Himself and fellow believers.  He created us for fellowship “for we are members of his body” (Eph 5:30).  Freddy was so appreciative:  “I needed to hear this.  When you walked in that door you came straight to my table.  I know God sent you to talk to me today.”