Never too far gone.

Have you ever had one of those moments when you said something and immediately thought "Oh man, I shouldn't have said that." I had one of those exact moments earlier this week but thankfully, God took that moment and completely turned it around in a way that blessed my heart in an unexpected way.

I was talking to a gentleman the other day who had told me that he was originally from Iowa. I immediately asked him why he had moved from Iowa to Texas and the answer I got wasn't what I was expecting at all. Over the next several minutes, the man began to tell me about his life as a drug dealer and going to prison for his crimes. He began sharing how seemingly hitting rock bottom in life, losing his kids, his wife, and everything important to him, changed him. How it made him realize that the life he was living wasn't the life he wanted any longer and that he had to make a change.  He talked about coming from a good home with a good family, about playing college football, and how bad decisions led to prison. He talked about going through seven different vocational trainings in prison to prepare him for a new life afterwards. He told me that after getting out of prison  he knew he had to change his environment and the people that associated with if he ever wanted a fair shot at changing his life and that he decided to make the move to Texas. He talked about how much he actually loved working hard at his job and making an honest living for himself now.

Here was a man who didn't even know me, yet he was willing to open up and share his whole life story just because of my simple question regarding a move from Iowa to Texas. And what I saw was a man who was really sorry about the choices he had made in his life. A man who lost everything society tells us is important and decided to make a change for the better. A man that was willing to tell a stranger about the poor choices he had made so that he could then talk about his changed life now. As I left that conversation, I was so blown away. I had stuck my foot in my mouth by asking the question yet God chose to use that to show the beauty of His love and His grace. What I realized was this simple fact- No one is too far gone for God's grace. And that is something to celebrate.

It doesn't matter where we have been, it doesn't matter what we have done, God's grace is still there for the taking. The beautiful thing about God's sacrifice is that while we were STILL sinners Christ died for us.  (Rom 5:8) God knew the choices I would make and he knew the choices you would make. He knew that time and time again I would fall short of the life that he intended for me. He knew that even after choosing to follow Him, there would be times that I would give in to my nature and sin against Him. He knew but He still chose to send His Son to die on a cross for my sins. 

What a beautiful gift grace is. A beautiful gift that is never out of reach. No matter the choices we have made in the past or the choices we will make in the future, we are never too far gone for the reach of God's forgiveness. I was reminded of that by a complete stranger sharing his story of a life changed this week. And I want to offer that reminder now. No one is every too far gone.

As I was thinking over my thoughts on this topic, I watched this video blog by Jeremy Camp and I felt that it fit perfectly. Just watch it Here before you keep reading. (For some reason I can't get it to upload today)

So often we get caught up in the things going on in our own lives and we forget to look up and look around. We forget the compassion that God has for his people, even the people what haven't responded to Him yet. We get so caught up in the things we're doing and we forget that no one is too far gone. God wants EVERYONE to come to Him. He wants to rescue people out of lives in the pit of sin and darkness and bring them into the full abundant life that He has for them. So often I look at people's lives and I subconsciously write them off. Thank God he didn't do that to me. He still pursued and He still sent His son to die for me. Every day that He gives me on this earth, He gives me the opportunity to see His people and share the love and grace that He has to offer them. 

Ultimately we each make our own decision to follow Christ or not. I cannot make that decision for anyone else, but I can keep sharing and keep loving. I can look up and look around me. I can have compassion on God's creation and remember that no one is too far gone from His grace or His reach. If there is someone in your life today that seems too far gone, don't give up on them. Remember that despite the poor choices we make, the hurting, and the brokenness,  God can reach down and change the heart of each of us. He can change the heart of a drug dealer, a terrorist, or a selfish person like me. Look up, look around, see the people He's put before you, and remember that no one is too far gone.