Having lived through the Watergate years (during President Nixon's presidency), the name Charles Colson has come to represent many things to different people.
To some, he was the ruthless hatchet man that worked in the Nixon White House, working behind the scenes to make sure that President Nixon's enemies were dealt with.
Skulduggery and illegalities were common place.
To others, he was the man who gave his heart to God and ministered to people around the world. A man of consistent faith in his walk with God.
My admiration for Charles Colson comes from the fact that he connected to Christ - and stayed connected for the rest of his life. Never wavering. Never compromising.
God took one of the "worst" and turned him into one of the "best".
The Apostle Paul of our times in the sense of going from an evil man into a good man - all because of the power of the Holy Spirit.
Here's what I know: Even the worst of people in your life can come to Christ.
We can't ever think (or limit God by thinking) that "so and so" would never come to Christ. "They are too far gone." "They are too evil." "They have done too much".
No one is beyond redemption in God's eyes. God never, ever gives up on anyone, why should we?
Why not pause, even right now, and pray for that person that many consider to be "beyond hope" in the spirit realm.
But there is yet another lesson that we can learn from Charles Colson.
That the most effective life is not a life that is growing on the outside with power, pleasure and prestige, but a life that is growing on the inside. A life that is dedicated to the service of others.
He tells the story about his home town of Naples, Florida, which he calls "one of the garden spots of the world."
He writes:
"It's an absolute nirvana for all golfers, and they all come there. They're all CEOs of major corporations, and they retire to Naples, and this is "it"—twenty-seven golf courses and miles of sparkling beach and the best country clubs. I watch these guys; they're powerful people. They have this New York look on their face; they're determined. But now, all of a sudden, they start measuring their lives by how many golf games they can get in."
He further writes:
"I often say to them, "Do you really want to live your life counting up the number of times you chase that little white ball around those greens?" And they kind of chuckle, but it's a nervous chuckle, because in six months they've realized how banal their lives are, and they've got beautiful homes—castles—and when they get bored with that, they build a bigger castle, and they're miserable. The object of life is not what we think it is, which is to achieve money, power, pleasure. That's not the holy grail. The object of life is the maturing of the soul, and you reflect that maturing of the soul when you care more for other people than yourself.
I underlined that last part because that is the true purpose of our lives. To live for God and leave this planet a better place than when we entered into this world.
Just a thought for a Wednesday.
No comments:
Post a Comment