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| J. stood at a ‘don’t-disturb-the-artist’ distance and watched while I painted a church building in East London. However, since I was intentionally there to be disturbed, I motioned for him to join me. J. had moved from Canada to London three years ago. His thoughts ran deep and wide as I would soon learn. He was a graphic artist, so we spoke the same language. When the conversation turned to ‘God’, J. said that he was searching for the truth. Since the scriptures state that the goodness of God leads to repentance, I talked about how good God was to me when I was searching. I told him of part of my personal journey in locating God: As a young adult, I made many foolish and/or halfhearted attempts to find the path to ‘the meaning of life,’ I was soon to learn that I was on a road to ‘the ending of life’. About thirty-five years ago, I was traveling alone through Arizona. I stopped in Flagstaff. After finding a place to spend the night, I went to a supermarket to get something to eat. When I came out of the market, it began to rain. The rain thumped on the fragile veneer of self confidence I wore. It quickly exposed an oppressive weight of doubt built upon years of abuse I had suffered at my own hands and of others. Without fanfare, I made the decision to return to my cheap motel room and end my life with the revolver I had tucked away in my luggage. As I walked to my car, the cold rain became warm and soothing. I stopped and look upward. A tiny opening appeared in the clouds. Directly in its eye was the sun. A beam of light streamed through the thick atmosphere and fell on me. I slowly turned and looked around. All the parking lot, even all of Flagstaff remained in the shadows while I stood in the spotlight. Something in the distance caught my attention. Far away to my left was a mountain peak. Far away to my right was another mountain peak. A rainbow reached from one mountain peak to the other. Then I saw something I had never seen before; a second rainbow appeared high above the first one. I told J. that I knew without any doubt that God had found me that day in the parking lot. However, it wasn't until several years later that I found Him. I said to J., “You can end your search today and start a lifetime of discovery by inviting Jesus into your life and allowing Him to reveal the true God to you.” J. smiled and said he would give it serious thought. He shook my hand, then walked away. I packed my easel and returned to my hotel room. A personal thought: We as Christians spend a lot of time reminding ourselves and each other how much God loves us. But do we remember that God loves the sinner no less than He does the saint? Just think: God performed wonders in the heavens to reach the young bum that I was. Nevertheless, it wasn't until a person came to me with Jesus on their lips that was God able to save me. Please, not for Christ's’ sake, but for mankind's’ sake, open your mouth and tell someone about Jesus. |
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All images and text © Keni Arts — |
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