Hands On

"Your son did it, again."

"Our son. Does he have a key,  Patricia?"

"No. I can't believe he keeps stealing from us and pawning our stuff. Is it really all for drugs? I just don't understand it."

The woman leaned on a counter in the kitchen and put her hands on her face. Tears dropped to the floor.

Ten minutes away, a man was in a car, stopped at a red light. It was late in the night and no other cars could be seen on the street. He looked at the passenger seat and rested his eyes on necklaces, rings, other jewelry, and some dollar bills.

The light turned green and he made a left. After a few minutes, blue and red lights flashed behind him. He pulled over and waited for the police officer to approach his car.

The officer walked to the car as the window was rolled down. He asked for identification. 

"So, your name is Victor," the officer said. What are you doing on the street at night?"

Victor remained silent.

"I see you didn't make an effort to hide all that stuff in the passenger seat."

Some time had passed. Victor was in the back seat of the police car.

"You have quite the reputation, Victor," the officer said. "I just got a call about a domestic commotion a few blocks from here. It's unrelated to you, but you might know one of the people involved."

The police car arrived at a small house. As soon as the officer parked, a woman came running out of the house. Before the officer could get out of the car, a young man speed walked out of the house and held a gun up.

Victor's eyes widened.

The young man pulled the trigger and shot the woman. As the officer rushed out, the young man tossed the gun into the grass.

Victor's jaw was left hanging as he watched the young man get arrested.

"That's Tom!" Victor blurted. "He just shot his own mom!"

For years, Victor had been a burden to his family. They worried for him all the time. Most interactions he had with them consisted of him asking for money. He would frequently lose his patience with those that loved him, especially when they didn't do what he wanted them to do. Even slight hesitation would invoke a rageful rant about how everyone thinks they are better than him. Then, he would spew curses and wish that harm would befall his loved ones, along with spitefully pointing out perceived flaws of others. Compliments were perceived as pleasant lies, and he couldn't hear sincere correction.

Witnessing Tom murder his own mother made Victor realize he had been doing the same thing, except slower. All these years, he would be stealing from and lying to his family. It was always somebody else. But now, he could see. Something needed to change, and he knew it. No more "I'm trying." It was now time "to do."

Weeks later, Victor was sitting under a lonely tree in a grassy field. As he had contemplated his thoughts, he began to feel hopeless. 

A young man came along and saw Victor.

"Hey, man" the young man greeted. "I don't mean to bother you, but you look really sad. Is everything okay?"

"I want to tell you that I'm fine," Victor answered. "But I am feeling really bad. And I don't know what to do."

"What happened?"

"I've been killing my family and causing so much grief and pain and worry. I have addictions."

"Can I sit with you?"

"If you want."

"My name is Dylan. Can I share something with you?"

"Be my guest."

"At a young age, we all begin to do really bad things in life. And most of us think we are good. But that's not true. None of us are really good. Do you know about Psalms?"

"Yeah."

"There is a verse in it that says, 'The fool has said in his heart, 'There is no God.' They are corrupt, they have done abominable works, there is none who does good. The Lord looks down from heaven upon the children of men, to see if there are any who understand, who seek God. They have all turned aside, they have together become corrupt; there is none who does good, no, not one.' 

"We all die someday. How can someone not good get into heaven? The true definition of good is moral perfection. We may do good in our life, but the good we do doesn't cover up our bad. If a super hero or police officer saved lives and did good six days a week and then stole, murdered, and destroyed on Mondays, they wouldn't be considered good. In fact, they'd be considered evil. God requires moral perfection in order for a person to go to heaven. We don't deserve heaven, like a person who commits murder doesn't deserve to go free. If you break man's law, you go to man's jail. If you break God's law, you go to God's jail. But God doesn't want us going to the other place. So with mercy and grace, God sent Jesus to live a sinless life and sacrifice that life to be payment for our lifetime of sins, committing evil acts, and breaking God's law. God made it simple for us. All the work was done by Jesus. To have this gift applied to you, God commands all to repent and believe in Jesus. You don't have to pay anyone. You don't have to travel anywhere. You don't have to harm yourself. Just turn from evil and what you know is wrong and believe in Jesus, that his death was for your transgressions and he was resurrected to life."

Victor looked into the blue sky. "I have been doing what was right in my own eyes this whole time," he said. "Repentance?"

"Yes," Dylan replied.

"I need a humble attitude toward this, don't I?"

"Yes."

For the next few hours, Dylan spoke in depth about these matters. And at the end of the conversation, Victor decided to put his hope into what he had heard.

The next week, Victor threw away all the drugs he had. He gave back things he stole that he was able to return. That included a dog that he took from an old neighbor in his previous neighborhood. He abandoned many things.

The following Sunday, Victor went to a church. Some of the members looked at him with faint disgust. He was somewhat infamous in the community. This was not the first time he had "given his life to God." It had happened many times in the past, but he never changed his ways. He never repented. But this time was not the same. He was a new person.

He sought advice from leaders of the church and it seemed as if he was brushed off. The members didn't seem to want to hold a conversation with him or give him any time of day. He sat alone once the service started.

At the end of the service, Victor left the church and began walking home.

Dylan approached him. 

"Hey, Victor, right? What a coincidence. I wondered if I would see you again."

"Hey, Dylan."

"Every time I see you, it seems like I catch you at a bad time," Dylan laughed softly.

"I just came from that church over there. It wasn't a good experience."

"Oh, bro. I'm sorry, dude. That hurts my heart that you experienced something like that. Not every church is filled with God's people."

"What do you mean?"

"1 John 4:7-8 says, 'Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God. Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love.' 

And in another place, it reads 'If someone says, “I love God,” and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen, how can he love God whom he has not seen?'

 If you read all of 1 John, you see that there are people out in the world who are like Judas, and some of them don't even know it. They still live in sin and lack repentance and lack obeying Jesus's blueprint for life."

"I see."

"Listen, come to my church. My loved ones there will love you and show you love. Some may be a little hesitant at first because you are no stranger to them. They are aware of your past. But with your steadfast conviction and new life, they will see that your faith is genuine. One of the writers of the New Testament, Paul, was in a similar situation because he used to persecute believers before he was saved."

The next Sunday, Victor entered the church with Dylan. There were smiles and pleasant greetings.

Towards the middle of the service, Dylan asked the pastor if Victor could speak.

Victor found himself on stage, in front of more than sixty people.

"I thank you all for the love you have shown me," Victor said. "I know I have probably wronged many of you in the past. I know you have love, but some of you don't know what to make of me yet. I know a few of you are visitors to the church, some of whom were on the streets with me and are only here for today because a family member brought you. You don't believe my change. You don't believe me. There isn't much I can say. I am still in the process of showing my family what God has done for me. Life is something you don't do alone. I have learned that it is important that we be there for each other. And…I have felt so alone. As I said, there isn't much I can say about my past actions. But I do have a plea. It is a plea that comes from my heart."

Tears began to come down his cheeks.

Little did Victor know, the next thing he would say, conveying his heart in exactly sixty-one words, would bring all the church members to stand around him, resting their hands on him in prayer, support, and loving care.

*See Kanye West Sunday Service/ Hands On/ Jesus is King. (Channel: Broadcast Houston (Culture))