I went to a concert at Shades of Brown (a coffee shop in Tulsa) and I had a 30 minute conversation with two brothers. I have been trying to figure out what exactly I wanted to say about it for the past two days...
Basically it boils down to me having a chance encounter with two brothers. Both of them used to go to Rhema Bible Church and now they are not going to church. They both told me that they believe in the following: the Trinity, Jesus is their Lord and Savior, Jesus died on the cross and rose from the grave and is seated at the Father's right hand, that the Bible is God breathed and is completely true and last but not least they both believe they are going to Hell.
They were both drinking and the younger brother was drunk. He remembered me from when he was in youth and I was a youth leader. We started talking and I told him that I was still working with youth and he started telling me what he was doing that he thought was wrong. Then his older brother came over and joined the conversation.
They both explained to me that if they were to die today they would go to Hell. Not because they didn't believe in God, not because they hadn't accepted Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior...no they were going to Hell because of the sins they were committing right now. The older brother said he couldn't change. He said he could be good for a year or two but then he would get right back into the same stuff he was doing right now and there was no hope for him to change. It was who he was.
These guys knew scripture. They were quoting it to me, but they didn't have the relationship with God that someone with as much knowledge as they posses should have. They started asking the question, "If God knows what choices we are going to make, then why would He create the people who were going to choose to go to Hell?" The older brother said, if you create something and you already know what it will do then it isn't a choice. He also said that two opposites aren't a choice. I told them that God said that He placed before them blessing and cursing, life and death, therefore choose life...they didn't know what to say to that. I brought up that they can change their actions if they renew their minds with the Word and started working on their thoughts. They didn't really know what to say to that. Right before I had to leave one of them said well look around at this room. At least one person here will choose to go to Hell. Why would God create them? I answered with another question: Why don't you go to that person and show them that they have another choice and help them not choose Hell. I left them with a statement, I told them that they know enough to be dangerous to themselves and they need to make some choices. I said that I am here for them and I will help them if they want to talk to me but these are choices that they will have to make. I gave them my email and my full name on a piece of paper and then I left.
I never tried to condemn them for what they were doing although I did say that they were not making the right choices, but I tried to give them hope that they could change with God's help and I would do whatever I could do to help them too. The problem I was running into with them was that they know the truth. They know how they should be living and they are making a choice not to live that way. Walking away from them was one of the hardest things I have done because they both feel so hopeless. I don't know if I made a difference but I tried. In the 30 minutes that our lives crossed paths I tried to make a difference. They are both in my prayers and I am believing for a happy ending to this story...but they have choices to make.
The one thing that this does is show just how important it is to work with youth. The younger brother got "sent home" from a Valentines banquet because he was drunk and was hitting on all the girls. No one who was close to him at that time was able to show him or help him make different choices. He is still making the same mistakes he made when he was 16 and right now he doesn't see how he can make any other choices. You can help those around you see God's love and see that there is a better way. Please make the effort to touch the lives that you have a chance to touch.
1 comment:
Thanks for sharing; I really liked this post. It made me think about what I would say if I were in the same situation. You had some good answers for them and I think you did make a difference; and now as you said, the rest is up to them.
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