When you are a child of God, you find that you want to live differently from what the world has deemed acceptable. Things that may not matter to someone, will really matter to you if your life has been changed. You will feel a responsibility to make restitution to people you have wrong or mistakes you have made. It’s still extremely difficult, none-the-less, to accept ownership for mistakes. But you do it, because you hear the voice of God telling you to. You may feel shame, you may try to ignore the conviction, you may hold on for dear life to your pride. But, if you are truly a child of God then when you hear the Savior’s voice, you will eventually be obedient.
This was me. Yesterday.
I felt tremendous conviction for several weeks to correct something I did wrong. Over 15 years ago. So, I sent a letter to this person saying this:
Dear (Sir),
I worked for you while I was 16 years old at your grocery store…I was a child of turmoil and I made many mistakes which I am ashamed of…One of those mistakes was never repaying you $100 you loaned me…another was I took something from your store without paying for it…. I want you to know I am a life changed by Jesus Christ….I would like to offer to pay you restitution for what I did….I have a check for you for full restitution. Please accept it as a symbol that I am not who I use to be thanks to the mercy of Jesus Christ.
In Him,
Me
That’s not exactly the letter, but that’s the gist of it. Why did I do this, you ask? I could have very well gone on with the rest of my life and never owned up to this “mistake.” The store owner didn’t know I stole something and (likely) had long forgotten about the money he let me borrow over 15 years ago. But, I hadn’t forgotten. God hadn’t forgotten—He had forgiven, but it wasn’t forgotten. So, I did it. I told on myself and tried to make it right. I didn’t want this one “BIG MISTAKE” to keep God from telling me, “Well, done my faithful servant.”
It’s not how you start life that is important. It’s how you finish life. That is what most people will remember. But, I didn’t want this old impression of me to be the only impression of me this store owner ever saw. I wanted him to see how being a Christian can change your life and make you better. God’s love and mercy is sufficient, and He will give you the strength and the courage to set yourself apart from this world.
Today, I am thankful that
2 comments:
Wow, courage to accept responsibility for your actions! That can only be God. I am sure that God is going to do something amazing in your life as well as the store owner's!
I appreciate you!!
I love that you shared this with us. Thank you for following God's direction in your life to correct this. I was encouraged by your obedience. Like you said what would it have mattered. I Love the part about finishing well!
Happy Thanksgiving to you and your family.
Love Kim
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