U N B E L I E V A B L E

For nearly an hour I listened to a patient share about his wanderings and exploits that spanned 3 continents.

By the time Mr. H was thirty he was a millionaire jet setter...

...by the time he was forty, he was broke and homeless.

For the last ten years of his life he had literally been on the run.

Eventually after 6 marriages and two bankrupt businesses he found himself in the south pacific, in a Philippine jail, penniless and alone.

I listened to Mr. H tell of his crazed lifestyle of sex, drugs, and alcohol. If possible he had gone to a level beyond shame, to a place of disgrace. I took the opportunity to speak to him of reconciliation and how God loved him. A message he found incredible and unbelievable.

Later that evening I reflected on my visit with the patient and the direct similarities to Mr. H and the prodigal son of the New Testament. I was looking forward to sharing the passage with him the next day. On Friday morning I stopped in to see my new friend. He was as hopeless as ever. It had been another restless night for him. Anxiety was present the moment you entered the room.

I told him about the verses that came to mind and I asked to share them. He agreed and sat up in his bed with a pillow in his lap. He looked like a child waiting to hear a bed time story.

I began reading about the wayward son in Luke 15. When I reached the verse...

He longed to fill his stomach with the pods that the pigs were eating, but no one gave him anything...then he came to his senses and said, I will return to my father.


...Mr. H began to weep and tremble.

By the time I finished reading he was sobbing uncontrollably. I gently approached him...put my arm around his shoulder and said,

"Mr. H, it's time for you to come home!"

With his head on my shoulder, Dr. Dunn and I led Mr. H in a beautiful prayer of acceptance,
receiving Christ forgiveness for his sins,
bringing new life.

In an instant...a heart of stone was replaced with a heart of flesh.

Beauty was exchanged for ashes.
The oil of gladness for mourning.
What was dead is now alive.
What was lost had been found.

Dr. Dunn and I left the patients room rejoicing with the angels in heaven. Neither of us had expected such an eruption of human emotion.

Never underestimate Gods love for the LOST!

There's only one place in scripture where it say's God ran...
...and that's when He ran to me;
...took me in His arms;
...held my head to His chest
...and said, "My son has come home.

Luke 15:20 So he got up and went to his father.
       “But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion for him; he ran to his son, threw his arms around him and kissed him.
      “The son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son.’
      “But the father said to his servants, ‘Quick! Bring the best robe and put it on him. Put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet. 23 Bring the fattened calf and kill it. Let’s have a feast and celebrate. 24 For this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.


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