Unlikely heroes

I was blessed today to witness the baptism of a great young man. Shaun, one of the young adults that has been attending our third service, made a commitment to God today and was baptized into Christ.

Today as I watched a crowd of young adults gather around Shaun, I was taken back to a time over a year ago. I remember sitting in my office talking to Liz. Without going into details, Liz was at a difficult point in her life. We sat and talked about her life. We prayed together.

Liz had been coming periodically to youth events, but she had recently made some poor choices and many of her Christian friends had deserted her. In the midst of this disarray and confusion I met Liz. She told me I wasn't like most Christians she knows. I still remember her telling me, "You're pretty cool for a minister." (Maybe not those exact words, but something like that.)

Between now and then we have had dozens of conversations about life. The ups. The downs. The good, the bad, and the ugly. Regardless of what was going on, I always remembered that Liz was a daughter of the King of Kings.

In recent months, I have watched Liz grow and mature in her relationship with God. I was blessed to be able to baptize her into Christ about a month ago. Over the last several months, she has introduced a host of young adults to Jesus through the Rochester Church. It seems like every week Liz and her crew are bringing someone new. Shaun's baptism today was another chance to be reminded of how God is working through Liz.

Liz has experienced many more tragedies and difficulties in her life than I could ever imagine. From the death of her fiance to a life full of people who have let her down, Liz has been through so much. Amazingly, God continues to use Liz effectively despite all of her "problems." When a normal person would have given up, Liz, through the power of the Holy Spirit, has continued growing in her journey.

The lesson I have learned - and continue to be reminded of - is this: Never give up on anyone. You never know when someone who seems "hopeless" to some could be the next Liz. They could be another explorer on the journey of life. Just as He had done throughout history, God will take the most unlikely of characters and make them the heroes of the story. Liz is proving to be another one of God's "success stories."

shine!
Jason