The Power of God
“I have to forgive my mom.”
Woah. I knew the Gospel was powerful, but didn’t expect it to be that powerful.
Only an hour earlier, my new friend Simon* was describing the emotional pain his mother had spilled onto his life. His dad had been a seafarer, a job which often means 6-9 month absences across the world—a recipe for relational strain. His mother, back home in the Philippines, had decided to run off with another man when Simon wasn’t even 6 years old. Enter life with a stepmother who played favorites.
Ironically, the profession that ripped his family apart would bring Simon closer to God. On his fourth year working as a seafarer, his ship docked in Seward, Alaska for a few days. He had been to a seaman's mission in Norway before, so he decided he might as well check out the Seward Seaman’s Mission on his break. About 8:00 pm on a Monday night I found him lounging in one of the worn plastic chairs out back. Instead of devouring the free Wi-Fi, he was absorbing the mist-covered mountains, slightly-fishy breeze, and small town traffic.
I introduced myself as a mission volunteer and slid into the chair next to him. He was curious. “So this is your vacation?” he asked. I answered, “Yeah, I like coming to Alaska and I care about people, so that’s why I come.” The conversation abruptly switched lanes as he dryly stated: “It is very rare for people to actually care about others. On the ship, no one is there for you; if you have a problem, you take care of it yourself. I have a hard time trusting people.” He had some fair points. “Yes, we are selfish," I agreed carefully. "I guess when I see how God cares about people, it gives me some motivation to care for others more. I think we place expectations on other people to be God for us. Humans will always fail.”
That’s when his story emerged. Simon had been wounded by selfish, hurting people, like his mother. He believed in an afterlife and he had a Bible, but he really didn’t care what people believed anymore as much as if their actions matched their talk. It didn’t seem fair for someone to be able to do something terrible like murder—and then just “repent and be fine.” He shook his head, “They murdered someone! They don’t deserve heaven!”
“Sure,” I said. “But what if lying is just as much of a sin to God as murder? We are used to looking at things from the outside. What if I want to murder someone in my heart but never act on that? Is that not just as bad?” He cringed, “I see what you’re saying. I have wanted to kill someone.” I told him, “We often look at the outside, but God looks at the heart.” I asked him if he thought heaven was a free gift or something you had to earn. Like many people, he thought it was something you had to earn. “I have read a lot about it in the Bible,” he sighed, “and it seems it is very hard to go up there” (he pointed to the sky). “It is a lot of work.”
He was ready for some answers so I grabbed a Bible and other materials. Simon had heard John 3:16 in elementary school, but he didn’t know what it meant. It at least made sense to him that God was a fair judge and required payment for sin. I used the illustration of being prosecuted for stealing a TV--it didn’t matter if he didn’t steal other TV’s, or if he was a nice person overall--someone had to pay the fine of stealing a TV. Similarly, we could not erase the sin separating us from our Creator, despite our best efforts. Someone had to pay, and God was willing to pay for it Himself. While Simon would likely never die for the man his mother ran off with, Jesus Christ had died in the place of sinners!
When I asked him to read Ephesians 2:8-9 aloud, he stopped mid-sentence: “I know this! It is foggy but I have read it somewhere.” He saw that he was wrong about heaven. Being saved from hell is not something to be earned, but a gift to be received in faith. I explained, “If you fell overboard on the ship, you would need a lifeguard to pull you out. It would be foolish to try to save yourself or resist help because you wanted to try by yourself.” Simon filled in the gaps, “So… since it’s a gift, you don’t need to pay for it! You just accept it. Otherwise Christ’s death would be pointless, and it was costly. I wouldn’t want to mess that up.” Later we looked at Galatians 2:21: “I do not set aside the grace of God, for if righteousness could be gained through the law, Christ died for nothing!”
After flipping through the Bible, the Gospel was working on Simon’s heart. He became aware of his own need for grace, and that instantly produced a strong desire to forgive his mother. Forgiveness is costly, because the offended party must absorb the cost of what the offender did to him or her. But God, who was truly innocent of wrong, was willing to absorb the greatest cost of all on his own tab. He gave everything to forgive people who may never appreciate it.
God’s love has leveled the playing field. No person is more deserving of his love than another. I showed Simon Luke 15, where Jesus talks about being excited about just one sinner. “You remember how 'no one cares on the ship'? You are not ‘no one’ to God!” This floored him. “Wow. I am used to feeling lower than everyone. I always look down when being spoken to on the ship because I assume they are higher than me. But with God that is not the case. I am a child!” He pointed to Galatians 3:26, which we had looked at earlier.
I smiled, “Hey, you’re starting to sound like you believe this!” He started laughing. “Before, I was thinking 90% Jesus, and 10% me. Salvation by my works. But I don’t anymore.” He stated clearly what Jesus had done for him personally on the cross.
“Simon, God is saying Happy Birthday.”
“…Because I am born again!” He grinned. “For 24 years, all these pieces have been there, like little seeds in my brain. But I never understood it all until now. This Book is a guide for life! All the answers are in here!”
The Gospel is the “power of God for salvation to everyone who believes” (Romans 1:16). We need this power every day. It is what heals our relationships, helps us forgive, and gives us hope to move forward in life. It’s worth sharing.
*name changed for privacy
Woah. I knew the Gospel was powerful, but didn’t expect it to be that powerful.
Only an hour earlier, my new friend Simon* was describing the emotional pain his mother had spilled onto his life. His dad had been a seafarer, a job which often means 6-9 month absences across the world—a recipe for relational strain. His mother, back home in the Philippines, had decided to run off with another man when Simon wasn’t even 6 years old. Enter life with a stepmother who played favorites.
Ironically, the profession that ripped his family apart would bring Simon closer to God. On his fourth year working as a seafarer, his ship docked in Seward, Alaska for a few days. He had been to a seaman's mission in Norway before, so he decided he might as well check out the Seward Seaman’s Mission on his break. About 8:00 pm on a Monday night I found him lounging in one of the worn plastic chairs out back. Instead of devouring the free Wi-Fi, he was absorbing the mist-covered mountains, slightly-fishy breeze, and small town traffic.
I introduced myself as a mission volunteer and slid into the chair next to him. He was curious. “So this is your vacation?” he asked. I answered, “Yeah, I like coming to Alaska and I care about people, so that’s why I come.” The conversation abruptly switched lanes as he dryly stated: “It is very rare for people to actually care about others. On the ship, no one is there for you; if you have a problem, you take care of it yourself. I have a hard time trusting people.” He had some fair points. “Yes, we are selfish," I agreed carefully. "I guess when I see how God cares about people, it gives me some motivation to care for others more. I think we place expectations on other people to be God for us. Humans will always fail.”That’s when his story emerged. Simon had been wounded by selfish, hurting people, like his mother. He believed in an afterlife and he had a Bible, but he really didn’t care what people believed anymore as much as if their actions matched their talk. It didn’t seem fair for someone to be able to do something terrible like murder—and then just “repent and be fine.” He shook his head, “They murdered someone! They don’t deserve heaven!”
“Sure,” I said. “But what if lying is just as much of a sin to God as murder? We are used to looking at things from the outside. What if I want to murder someone in my heart but never act on that? Is that not just as bad?” He cringed, “I see what you’re saying. I have wanted to kill someone.” I told him, “We often look at the outside, but God looks at the heart.” I asked him if he thought heaven was a free gift or something you had to earn. Like many people, he thought it was something you had to earn. “I have read a lot about it in the Bible,” he sighed, “and it seems it is very hard to go up there” (he pointed to the sky). “It is a lot of work.”
He was ready for some answers so I grabbed a Bible and other materials. Simon had heard John 3:16 in elementary school, but he didn’t know what it meant. It at least made sense to him that God was a fair judge and required payment for sin. I used the illustration of being prosecuted for stealing a TV--it didn’t matter if he didn’t steal other TV’s, or if he was a nice person overall--someone had to pay the fine of stealing a TV. Similarly, we could not erase the sin separating us from our Creator, despite our best efforts. Someone had to pay, and God was willing to pay for it Himself. While Simon would likely never die for the man his mother ran off with, Jesus Christ had died in the place of sinners!
When I asked him to read Ephesians 2:8-9 aloud, he stopped mid-sentence: “I know this! It is foggy but I have read it somewhere.” He saw that he was wrong about heaven. Being saved from hell is not something to be earned, but a gift to be received in faith. I explained, “If you fell overboard on the ship, you would need a lifeguard to pull you out. It would be foolish to try to save yourself or resist help because you wanted to try by yourself.” Simon filled in the gaps, “So… since it’s a gift, you don’t need to pay for it! You just accept it. Otherwise Christ’s death would be pointless, and it was costly. I wouldn’t want to mess that up.” Later we looked at Galatians 2:21: “I do not set aside the grace of God, for if righteousness could be gained through the law, Christ died for nothing!”
After flipping through the Bible, the Gospel was working on Simon’s heart. He became aware of his own need for grace, and that instantly produced a strong desire to forgive his mother. Forgiveness is costly, because the offended party must absorb the cost of what the offender did to him or her. But God, who was truly innocent of wrong, was willing to absorb the greatest cost of all on his own tab. He gave everything to forgive people who may never appreciate it.
God’s love has leveled the playing field. No person is more deserving of his love than another. I showed Simon Luke 15, where Jesus talks about being excited about just one sinner. “You remember how 'no one cares on the ship'? You are not ‘no one’ to God!” This floored him. “Wow. I am used to feeling lower than everyone. I always look down when being spoken to on the ship because I assume they are higher than me. But with God that is not the case. I am a child!” He pointed to Galatians 3:26, which we had looked at earlier.
I smiled, “Hey, you’re starting to sound like you believe this!” He started laughing. “Before, I was thinking 90% Jesus, and 10% me. Salvation by my works. But I don’t anymore.” He stated clearly what Jesus had done for him personally on the cross.
“Simon, God is saying Happy Birthday.”
“…Because I am born again!” He grinned. “For 24 years, all these pieces have been there, like little seeds in my brain. But I never understood it all until now. This Book is a guide for life! All the answers are in here!”
The Gospel is the “power of God for salvation to everyone who believes” (Romans 1:16). We need this power every day. It is what heals our relationships, helps us forgive, and gives us hope to move forward in life. It’s worth sharing.
*name changed for privacy
That was an encouraging story of a seafarer that came to the Seamans Mission in Seward, Alaska. The Gospel message can transform lives. Thanks for the good news. :)
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