His name is Christian. He has a wife, but there are troubles. There are issues in the relationship, and they are currently separated. He has a son living with him—he is 5. Christian loves his son very much. His heart is heavy—something many of us can relate to. His friends counsel him, “Talk with Josh. Study the Bible with Josh.” So, there we sat. Late at night in a dimly lit room with the Bible open.
He began, and I listened. He opened up about what was hurting him and asked, “What does the Bible say about that?” So, we read the Bible. We read in Philippians 4:6-13 (the 23rd Psalm of the New Testament) that we are to be “anxious for nothing.” We read about trusting in God and thinking on things from above. We read about how we can find contentment in any situation and that with God we can.
We then went to Colossians 3:1-15 and read that finding peace starts with a resurrection and getting rid of the old man and replacing it with the new. We read about what the new man looks like in Christ. We then went to Romans 6:1-6 and talked about what it means to be resurrected with Christ in baptism. We read about the death that takes place and resurrection that we can have in Christ.
We went to Psalm 1 and read about the man that meditated on the law of the Lord day and night. We went to Proverbs 1:1-7. There we read about what Solomon wanted for his sons and how we can find it through a respect for God.
He then asked, “What should I do for my son?” I told him that he already knew he needed to be in Christ. That he needs to make that important in his own life. I told him his son needs to see that it is important to you. He needs to see you pray, and he needs to see you read the Bible. He needs to know that the Bible is the only guide for your family. And, you need to love him and show him that God loves him. He said he could do that. We ended the study with a prayer, and he said that it had helped him. He said, “You have no idea how timely you being here is.” He has some things to think about as he processes all that was discussed.
Why would I tell that story? It is not about me or my glory. It isn’t really about Christian either. His is just the name with the story. We all know a “Christian” that needs the same message. Many of us have been in Christian’s place. Not the same details but in a place with a heavy heart needing to hear a message from God. You have something so precious in your hands when you hold the Bible. You have no idea how timely it is. My prayer for all the “Christians” out there is that they would turn to God and seek Him.