Bad To Good

5-12-2009

I am going to take a break from the book of Philippians to share a story that took place last night. I feel it can be a life lesson that we can all relate to about the understanding and power of forgiveness. This is a story of a horrible situation turned good.

It had been brought to my attention that an employee of mine had made some costly mistakes that warranted being fired on the spot. After finding out about these mistakes, I was immediately furious and set up the “last” meeting he and I would ever have. This meeting started off exactly how I expected; I would present the facts, and he would deny them. As the interrogation continued, and the lies flowed out of his mouth, it occurred to me something was missing. Once he started confessing, I knew he wasn’t confessing the whole truth and nothing but the truth, yet suddenly I realized that though the truth was missing, the real TRUTH was missing. What was wrong with this particular person became blatantly obvious, he didn’t know Christ. No one could possibly act the way he acted if he truly understood the love of Christ.

At that moment, God laid it on my heart to use this situation for the good. If I had fired him, he may have gone on about this life with nothing changed. By sharing the power of forgiveness, maybe, just maybe, a soul could be saved. I told him I would not fire him if he told me the entire truth. If he would simply confess now, he would still have a job, but if I found out he didn’t tell me the entire truth, he would be fired on the spot. With tears flowing, he chose to confess, which led to the most important question I would have for him. Are you a follower of Jesus Christ? Have you ever asked him into your life? He wiped some of the tears away, and said, “No I haven’t.” I then explained to him what it means to be a Christian, and how Christ forgives us of our sins, and through the power of Grace we are saved. The parallel of his situation (sinning, confessing, and needing forgiveness), and the gift of grace and salvation led him to accepting Christ as his Lord and savior! We prayed the prayer, and out with the old and in with the new, we have another brother in Christ!

Quite frankly, I am shocked as to how Christ moved during the 2 and ½ hour meeting. After about two hours into the meeting, God shifted my focus from inspector gadget to leading a lost soul to Christ. I pray that I can revisit this story in the near future and inform everyone of how God is working in this young man’s life. I truly believe God has blessed him with some tremendous qualities, and now he can use them for the good of our Lord Jesus Christ!

Application:
1. Don’t give up on people; give them a chance, just as Christ gives us a chance.
2. Share with them the power Grace, mercy, and forgiveness…do not beat them over the head, but once a solid relationship has been built, simply tell them why every road without Christ is a dead end.