Scoff If You Must

I know that many of my thoughts do not parallel everyone’s point of view or way of thinking, but if you will take the next few minutes to peruse this short writing, I promise that it will not be a waste of your time.

I remember the month and year that I started this journey with God.  I was thrilled with the changes that took place when I asked Him to forgive me of my sins.  Peace flooded my soul like nothing I had experienced here-to-fore.  It was like being born again.  I was a new creation, because of Jesus, the Son of God.

A person will never understand the true essence of what I am talking about until they try the Lord for themselves.  They cannot know the pureness of heart that I felt when He lifted the load of sin that I was carrying.  I literally took a deep breath and exclaimed, “I can breathe!”  God had set me free.

I shared this experience with all of my friends and others that God brought my way.  Some listened; some scoffed.  One of my buddies said, “You’ll be back doing the things you did before!  Quit trying to cram your religion down my throat!”  He then added a few more exclamatory expletives.  I only wanted him to experience the same liberating joy as me.

My response was, “Scoff if you must, but I found what I was looking for.  Why would I ever go back to the life I was living?”  I then said calmly, “When you want to hear more you’ll have to come to me.”  We parted company.

In the next day or so I shared my experience with another one of my friends.  He was so moved that he knelt in my living room and repeated a short prayer after me; repenting of his sins.  He immediately experienced what it meant to be born again—becoming a Christian.  Joy flooded his soul and his countenance changed.  It happened that quickly.

He stood and said, “I can look you straight in the eyes now, because I’ve got what you’ve got.”  He knew what I was like before my conversion and saw the change that God had made in my life.  He wanted this joy for himself and received it the moment he invited Jesus into his heart.

Leaving my apartment, it was like he was walking on a cloud; full of love and bliss.  He was definitely a changed man; a new Believer in Christ.

Now that I think about it, he was one of the first guys that saw me the next day after my encounter with God the night before.  I remember him asking, “What’s wrong with you?”  He saw a smile on my face and life in my eyes, whereas, the weeks prior, I never smiled, because I was full of hate and bitterness.

In the days that followed, several more of my friends gave their heart to the Lord.  Everyone was set free from the bondage of sin just like I was.  They found new life.

Remember the guy that said, “Stop trying to cram your religion down my throat!”  He came to me when no-one was around and said these words:  “I’ve been watching your life and I want what you’ve got.”  He too accepted Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. 

His disposition and attitude changed the moment he asked God to forgive him of his sins.  I could see the change.  God is no respecter of person.  What He has done for others He will do for you.

I cannot explain how it happens; it just does, because God made it easy to become His child; a part of the family of God.  It is not hard to pass from death (sinful living) unto life (sins forgiven), because the price for sin was paid in full when Jesus died on the cross for you and me. 

All that a person has to do is believe in the Lord Jesus Christ and they will be saved.  Instantaneously, they become a son or daughter of God when they ask Him to forgive their sins.  The Bible is straightforward and tells us that it is that simple.

(Romans 10:9-10), “that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.”  vs.10 “For with the heart one believes unto righteousness and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.”

(1 John 1:9), “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”

Talk about scoff, ridicule, and downright rude mockery; my carpenter, framing partner that I worked with for about a year would mouth off at me so badly, regarding my faith, that one day he got me so riled that I yelled at him and said, “If I wasn't a Christian I’d knock you in the head with this hammer!” 

The old nature that God set me free of raised its ugly head as I yielded to my rage.  I didn’t hit him, but I wanted to.  After feeling convicted of my behavior, I went to him a short time later and apologized for my anger and asked him to forgive me.  He told me that this act of humility impressed him more than all of my preaching.

After the job ended we went our separate ways.  A couple of years later my phone rang and who do you think it was?—my old framing partner.  He apologized for always scoffing at me and trying to get under my skin.  He thanked me for all of the times that I witnessed to him about the love of Christ and the changes that He could make in his life. 

He said, “I’m in church now and I’ve got my family in church.”  He shared for awhile and when I hung up the phone I cried like a baby.  Scoff if you must, but God will make a difference if you are unsatisfied with the statuesque and willing to give Him a try.  You will not regret it; I promise.  Peace is just a prayer away.

Written by,

Papa Boyd