"I need more of this Jesus stuff, Christians seem to have it figured out.” “John” said as we were riding back in the car from his first day at church.
Life for John hasn’t been easy since he has gotten out. He has been homeless, gone through a couple of jobs, is dealing with pressure from the family members, and paying back court costs and warrants. But when we meet, John talks about his hopes and plans, and dreams he has…the military maybe, finishing his GED, and how he and his girlfriend would like to get their own place someday.
Unfortunately, life at home is hard and the stress has taken a physical toll on his body reflected in the loose jeans and shirts he wears. The continual family and life pressure even makes him want to give up sometimes.
However when he went to church, things were different. “They don’t judge us here, and what the preacher says makes sense." He took a Bible out of the pew and started to underline it. “We make a false distinction between Jesus stuff and our life stuff, like the two don’t belong to each other. The truth is our life stuff is Jesus stuff. He wants to be a part of it” came the words from the pulpit. John’s head nodded in agreement.
He told me later that when he was locked up he read the Bible, but didn’t know when he left that it had anything to do with his life on the outside. Now he is starting to bring the pieces together. He wants to keep going to church to find out more about this "Jesus stuff."
John is on a spiritual journey at his own pace, just like the rest of us. However, he wouldn’t have had the chance to discover this different way if we weren’t involved, and we couldn’t be involved unless you helped support the ministry.