Finishing Our Conversation

Dear You-Know-Who-You-Are,

What I wanted to say to you but was unable is that I know what you are going through. I have been in your restitched boots, and I know what it is like to think that Jesus was only a great man...only a great example. I know what it is like to fight with God over the way He made the world. I know what that is like as an unbeliever, a kind-of believer, and a believer. I don't claim to know your exact situation, and I don't want to minimize your struggles; all I am saying is that I can relate.

But, my friend, I do know that I never wanted to follow Jesus. I wanted to live in my comfortable "not-sooooo-bad" sin and be all that the liberal residents in Bloomington can be. To me, Jesus was a great man (but certainly not God). The Bible was just a book, full of errors and contradictions (even though I had never really read/studied it before). People who thought homosexuality was a sin were ignorant and just plain out wrong. Feminist? Absolutely! Go down the list; I was everything but a Christian. So what happened? He rescued me. There was no turning away from His call. Everything that my pompous mind believed was shattered over time and in one instant.

So, for the sake of your soul, I need to push you. Here is the truth: I cannot save you. I cannot change your heart. That is an action only God can take. But I can tell you that you cannot give up this struggle to find God. I can inform you that there most assuredly is a Heaven and a Hell. There is a holy, sinless, blameless God in Heaven, who cannot allow sin to go unaccounted for. There is one Way to be saved from our sin (yes, sin really is a serious problem), and that is through true repentance and belief in Christ Jesus as Lord. The Bible says so and the reality of the world points to this truth.

Take your last couple days in Bloomington to notice how enslaved people are to their sin, and how in need they are of a Savior. Look at how you and I need a Savior. Read the Bible. Ask questions. Visit Bible-believing churches to hear the Word preached. Ask God that He will give you the Holy Spirit. Have a faith in Jesus that means more then just believing He is good. Have a faith that turns to Christ day and night in all seasons of life. Have a faith that cries out, "I am yours, save me." He died for wretched sinners- a category all belong to.

Give your life over, my friend, so that you may gain life everlasting. Tomorrow may be the last time I see you on Earth, but I will be overjoyed if I am given the privilege of meeting you again in the life to come.

Devotedly,
Mrs. Pickett