Where Do We Begin?

When a man begs Larry to fix his family after he has left it in shambles thanks to a pornography addiction and a woman refuses to believe that her daughter wants nothing to do with her after she allowed her boyfriend to molest her…where do we begin? When a woman is so tightly enmeshed in a drug ring in another state the dealers won‘t let her go even in jail, and another young woman has just had reconstructive surgery and teeth implants to repair the face that her husband smashed, where do we begin? When a man's own cousin sets him up for a drug sting and he's facing eight years in prison, and people endlessly tell us that they “don't know who they are” after years of drugs and street life, where do we begin? When kids at the juvenile center are told that their parents don't want them anymore, like they are a broken toy or so much trash…where in the world do we begin?

We are compelled to begin with the Name above all names… JESUS.

To a cynical, disbelieving world, we must proclaim Him with our lives. Words do not impress the lost, but a life lived as a billboard to the love of God -- now that will get their attention. They already know what faithlessness looks like - their marriages are earmarked by affairs. They have felt too much betrayal, anger and pain to believe that God has a wonderful plan for their life -- nothing about their life has been wonderful. When Larry and Susan say they have been married for 30 years; that gets their attention. When they tell their “ Jarvis Family Stories of the Faith” the arguing about the power of prayer stops; no one can argue with another person's life story. Unbelief has to pause for a moment in the face of a life lived with Jesus. That moment is the precious one where the Holy Spirit has a chance to do that supernatural work of salvation so necessary to BEGIN.

To scoffers and mockers, we must uphold Him. Calm answers from the book of Genesis about creation are a necessity. Anything hinting of hypocrisy must be guarded against. When a heckler comes out to Bible study, Larry or Susan just have to deal with it…respectfully, authoritatively, and with gentle regard for all the seeking souls sitting next to the person with the issues. All must see the depth and sincerity of our belief in JESUS.

To the tired and the sick and the grieving, we must offer a listening ear, a kind word, the encouraging hug, the compassionate tear. Who will love the Hispanic man dying of AIDS, even before he goes off to the prison hospital facility? Who will hold the hand of the woman whose teenage daughter has run away? Who will sit and listen to the stories about a dad who has just passed away? We do…and comfort begins with the gentle love of JESUS.

If we don't begin with Jesus in our ministry to these folks, there is nowhere left to go! The waves of sin that threaten to wash America away, crest in the jails and prisons of our country. There people are stripped of their pride and their secrets are finally held out for all the world to see. What many Americans do in the dark, jail inmates have exposed in the light of a police blotter in the local paper. We're dealing with the “caught” population and in that captivity, there is time for thinking, praying, reading the Bible, and confessing to the Lord. Yes, we must begin with Jesus.