Today a number of controversial topics surfaced throughout my day: Homosexuality (the sinfulness of it), women in ministry, the scandal of the modern American preacher, and of course the place of the Holy Spirit. But during my much anticipated American Idol personal retreat I saw something that brought me back to earth and reminded me of the freeing truth of Jesus Christ, the savior of the world, God incarnate, the revelation of the one true Trinitarian God nailed to the cross who conquered the curse of sin and offers life to ALL who wish to accept it.
During a commercial break I found some channel I had never previously watched and was attracted to it because of how cheap it appeared and I settled in to my seat, giddy for a good laugh. I also saw that the two people were going to be talking about human trafficking in Vancouver during the upcoming Winter Olympics. I soon found myself actually paying attention to the words coming out of these two folks mouths.
And then I was hit by the story of this woman on this program. She was a former prostitute herself. The shows host asked her about how she finally got out of the never ending cycle of prostitution. Her response almost brought a tear to my eye (if I had more of a heart I probably would have cried); she broke her cycle of perpetual self-abandonment and degradation of her humanity because someone talked to her and made her feel like a real person. And THANK GOD for this because in the midst of all my pessimism and blogs on the poor state of the Church and western Christianity, here I witness the greatness of the church I criticize. This lady found her freedom in a free cup of hot chocolate given to her by none other than a Trinity Western student. This student was real authentic love to a woman who so deeply craved it since she was a child. The conversation and smile which flowed out of their interaction changed this former prostitutes life forever. The power of Jesus Christ… the power of THE Triune God is undeniable and AWEsome…
Hot chocolate, the gift of time, and a smile can change the world!!!
-Royce Pavelka
P.S. for all the times we harp on the church we must not forget stories like this. We must not forget that while we bitch and moan to one another and hold meetings to argue over the style of worship we have in our services, God is at work, often in spite of us. Yes there are problems in the church, yes we should be obedient and try to repair them, but let us not look over the great deeds being done by the church, let us not forsake our call to be Christians to be the present body of Christ. Let us stand up and applaud the church for all the good it has done, is doing, and will do.
hot chocolate is also apparently useful for a “watering-down” of coffee for the weak =D
I was just about to write a post on the evils of the Olympics haha