{source}<iframe style=”float: Left; border: 1px solid #000000; backgroundcolor: #c0c0c0; padding: 2px; margin: 10px; mozborderradius: 3px; khtmlborderradius: 3px; webkitborderradius: 3px; borderradius: 3px;” width=”400″ height=”225″ src=”https://www.youtube.com/embed/7wffHBQKq74?Rel=0″ frameborder=”0″ allowfullscreen></iframe>{/source}Forgiveness is one of the best ways to preach the reality of God. These guys preach that sermon every day. Their “sermon” was made public and popular on the CBS Evening News. Andrew Collins, a police officer, arrested Jameel McGee for selling drugs. McGee was completely innocent but served four years in prison. Jameel was released from prison after Andrew was convicted of fabricating charges against him and several other people in order to make his arrest record look successful. Andrew’s abuse and dishonesty cost Jameel four years of his life, and he wanted revenge. Instead, several years later, Jameel chose to forgive.
CBS reported, “Last year, by sheer coincidence, they both ended up at faith-based employment agency Mosaic, where they now work side by side in the same café. And it was in those cramped quarters that the bad cop and the wrongfully accused had no choice but to have it out.” For those who know God, the phrase “sheer coincidence” brings a smile. How often is that phrase applied to acts of God?
Andrew asked Jameel to forgive him saying, “Honestly, I have no explanation, all I can do is say I’m sorry.” Jameel said, “That was pretty much what I needed to hear.” The two men work side by side at the same coffee shop. They are not just men who have reconciled; they are men who have become great friends. Scripture says, “Therefore, confess your sins to each other and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working” (James 5:16, ESV). The sermons of righteous people have great power as well.
God’s power has been witnessed working in the lives of these two men. Jameel didn’t just give up the choice to hate; he made the choice to love. Andrew didn’t just ask to be forgiven; he has chosen to live as one forgiven. The result of their choices is a powerful sermon that was preached to a vast audience by the CBS news.
Theologians debate science, history, and philosophy in order to prove the reality of God. I’m glad they do because we need intelligent and learned defenses for our faith. But Andrew and Jameel, with their story of sheer coincidence and biblical forgiveness, prove the reality of God with their daily lives. Every Christian’s life is a sermon to the people around them.
How does your life preach the reality of God? We will all stand before the Lord one day, accountable and rewarded for our sermons. Here are a few verses to help us remember what God has recommended we preach:
– Our words can preach a good sermon, but God’s word can preach a perfect sermon. Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who has no need to be ashamed, rightly handling the word of truth (2 Timothy 2:15)
– I’ve been guilty of speaking God’s truth with arrogance and anger. Most of us who have seen the direction our culture has chosen experience the frustration of watching God’s word slandered and misrepresented by people and pulpits. If we don’t speak the truth in love, as Scripture teaches, we actually preach sermons that Satan can use. We shouldn’t be angry with the people who don’t believe God’s word; we should have compassion for them. They need to hear the truth, given with love from God’s people, so that they can escape the trap that Satan has set for them. Opponents must be gently instructed, in the hope that God will grant them repentance leading them to a knowledge of the truth, and that they will come to their senses and escape from the trap of the devil, who has taken them captive to do his will. (2 Timothy 2:25–26, NIV)
Andrew and Jameel know the power of God to redeem and reconcile. Their friendship is a sermon that preaches that message every day. What is the message your life preaches to others? Is it a truthful message about the powerful reality of God and his redemption in your life? God wants to redeem and reconcile. Let’s pray for the chance to preach that sermon to the people we meet.
Join us at www.christianparenting.org and chime in on this week’s discussion question: Share a time your kids witnessed you and your spouse prioritizing your marriage.