I’ve been sentenced to life!

I’ve been sentenced to life!

But the goal of our instruction is love from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith.  1 Timothy 1:5 (NASV)

By Bobby R. Henry, Sr.

     As humans, most of us hope to grow up and become outstanding people in our own homes, our churches and our communities; respectable and someone who others look up to. However, our journeys to reach that personification can be as different as there are grains of sand and as assorted as rain drops.

No matter the difficulty, the length of time or our status, with the help or involvement and influence of others, one can fall from respectability faster than tachyons move (tachyon is a particle that always moves faster than light. The word comes from the Greek tachys, meaning swift, quick, fast, rapid).

Perhaps the height and complications associated with failure from the ‘fall from grace’, if you will, that causes most of us to fear stepping into leadership roles, especially in the church; keeps one in the pews and not in the service of the church.

With essential and ordained positions in the church, one must approach this servitude with honesty, sincerity and a commitment to serve others.

It is a sentence to life meted out in the court of your integrity.

Allow me to tell you of a personal court appearance in which this person has been sentenced to life.

After a pretrial investigation and going before the One and only true Judge, Jury and Prosecutor; in the form of three persons he was found to be guilty. Guilty of all the sins that one can commit since all sins fall under the same category: Sin is sin no matter how big or how small, it is a sin.

He committed them all and now through the presentence investigation his records are beginning to speak for themselves.

There is no way that he could persuade the judge, the jury nor the prosecuting attorney for leniency, all that he had done was well known by the Chief Judge.

None of the things that he considered to be bad could be justifiable enough for the sentence that he was given.

For his protection, he had begun to search and call upon the name of the only One that could help him in preparation for life after the life sentence.

Yes, before the trial he was extremely nervous and petrified that the possibility of him receiving a life sentence was totally overwhelming and a bit too much for him to handle in his normal state of mind.

It wasn’t until he began to look at all the stuff that he had been through, then he began to realize there were times, let me say at all times I had no control of the predestined outcome that which I went through it had already been ordained.

I do realize now that if God brings you to it He can and will bring you through it.

Sometimes life holds very unpredictable outcomes to the problematic symptoms created by the choices we made. Without divine intervention unbeknownst to us, we would continue down the path of unrighteousness.

NO, I’m not professing to be holier than thou, I’m just glad that I can open up and let the world know that I want to serve in another capacity and most importantly, I’m willing to be led by God.

We all have our ‘cross to bear’. I will be carrying my cross over new territory this Sunday, Feb. 15 at 4pm when I and 12 other brothers become ordained as Deacons of the New Mount Olive Baptist Church.

Pray with us as we embark on our mission to’ “lead others to Christ”.

But flee from these things, you man of God, and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, perseverance and gentleness.  1 Timothy 6:11 (NASV)

WHEN GOD HELPS YOU TO CARRY YOUR CROSS THE LOAD IS MUCH LIGHTER