Overcomer

A friend of mine recently visited our church to update us on his evangelistic efforts on Prince Edward Island in Canada. Two and a half years ago he and his family were commissioned and sent out as missionaries to plant a church there. He spoke to us of the wonderful things the Lord was and is doing amidst the people on the Island and what God was doing for his family personally. The testimonies he shared were awesome and were living proof that God is faithful to spread His gospel and take care of His servants as they follow Him.

There was one testimony that stuck in my mind and culminated in this article. The lesson I learned will not leave me alone. I have come to see others and myself in a different light. I pray the words you read here will enlighten your spirit as it has mine.

Jose usually starts his update by telling us the first thing he does when he comes back to the States is to get a good haircut. He likes to go to "Super Cuts" in San Francisco, CA, and he always mentions that he prefers women cutting his hair to men. This particular trip he got a guy that he really did not want to cut his hair, for whatever reason.

He sat down and the two of them start a conversation about the weather and the conversation began to take a different turn as Jose was asked what he did for a living. Jose then proceeds to tell him about his livelihood, his vocation as a pastor, where his lives, etc., etc., at which point the gentleman cutting his hair replies boldly, "I'm a born again Christian too! I once lived a homosexual lifestyle but now I'm an overcomer...." The gentleman goes on to tell Jose that he has met some opposition within churches because his voice is a little high and he still walked a little differently as a result of his old life, but he was overcoming these obstacles. The gentleman again made the remark that he loved the Lord with all his heart. I remember an analogy my pastor used, he said it is like placing your hands in oil-based paint, you try to wash it off with soap and water and the residue is still there. You have to use a special cleaner to remove the paint. He still had the residue of his old life and God was in the process of cleaning off the residue so that the beauty underneath could be seen, but the work was not completed yet.

As I pondered this testimony, I began to look at my life and see that I had friends who also had some residue of the world and their previous life-styles still on them, including me. Many of them are in recovery, some have only just came to the Lord, and still others are in denial. Some of those friends have awesome testimonies of how the Lord has redeemed them from darkness. Some of them are pastor friends that now are at the healm of thriving ministries of Recovery, Restoration, Worship and Music Ministries, etc...the testimonies of their salvation are mind blowing. Many of us still carry the residue of our past life because it is part of the consequences of sins we committed.