Your father is a drunk who beat you mercilessly.
You’re surrounded by idiots who just make you want to stab them but instead, you occasionally punch holes in walls and kick windows out.
You self-medicated.
You cut yourself.
You purged after every meal.
You never felt loved.
BUT…
Jesus showed up and made it all better. I mean, it took some time for bloody knuckles, malnutrition and addiction to heal and all that, but something amazing and wonderful happened the second He showed up and your life was immediately better.
I’m going to make a confession. I’m a little arrogant. I try not to be, but every now and again this comes up and surprises me. Like the other day when I was trying to write. I wanted to be original and had nothing. I felt as though I had seen and heard it all and had nothing to contribute. Believing you’ve “seen it all” might be one of the highest forms of pride, or ignorance.
Regardless, I closed the laptop and picked up a book that reminded me of something. Even though I’ve seen and heard the same messages communicated eleventy-billion different ways and have grown weary of pretentious attempts at originality, stories never get old. Even if they all end the same way. Especially if they all end with, “Jesus wins and so do I.”
There are potentially six-and-a-half-billion testimonies on this planet. All of them are set in motion but many of them haven’t gotten to the Jesus-portion of it all yet. Others have been reveling in the relationship that redeemed them from the nastiness that they didn’t want to hang around. And still more are running frantically, trying to avoid that part of the denouement where we all see how good God is.
I just finished reading Ian Cron’s Jesus, My Father, The CIA, and Me. I couldn’t put the book down. It’s one man’s testimony involving Catholic priests, an unfortunate father, some funny situations and a whole lot of booze. It reminded me that people’s testimonies are some of the best stories out there and here’s the deal- I want to hear yours. I have a nice, clean copy of Cron’s “memoir of sorts” to give away, but you have to write your testimony into a post, put your link up, and I’ll draw a winner based on entries on Monday, July 18th.
Pride and ignorance. You’re singin’ my song son! (That’s from a song way before your time). I too struggle with arrogance, which manifests itself as your said in our pride and ignorance.
Those categories fall under the big heading of “Selfishness,” which pretty much sums up my testimony and unfortunately is where my “nail bends” so to speak.
Thank God, He loves us enough to keep doling out the wisdom and each one of the realizations come as a complete revelation. I can’t count the times I’ve looked back and said, “Boy, was I dumb”…
Clever idea on the post. You’ve given me much to think about. Asking someone about their testimony is like having someone give you their personal statement of faith in one sentence. Kinda hurts the noodle a bit…
i am late to the game. i am a bad friend and just now started to read Angie’s memory here, hence I am quite appropriate for your blog. Did you give the book away? for I never would of thought for a billion bourne identities that Jesus was in the CIA so I am super fascinated to read. I know He is everywhere but I confess I doubted him there. I am often prideful as well and need a good humbling rehashing of my testimony so I can see how faaaar God has brought me from the depths of Sheol and with a hope, it may bring another soul back from it as well….so if a book still waits in the balance, my flanges I will ready.