18 to Life

This book tells the story of a dead man, and concludes with the beginning of a new life. Consider two utterly different men. One fellow was a child immersed in dysfunctional circumstances. He… Lue lisää This book tells the story of a dead man, and concludes with the beginning of a new life. Consider two utterly different men. One fellow was a child immersed in dysfunctional circumstances. He inherits a legacy of poverty, racism and ignorance that spawns the introduction of another sociopath into an already hostile environment. This man considers his interactions as business rather than social affairs. Lies are expressed more easily than laughter. Greed and lust dictate his steps, but no measure of gain satisfies. This character perpetuates a cycle of violence and hedonism that inexplicably attracts others to imitate the behavior. Predictable outcomes for such are living in a self-induced haze, life in prison or an early grave. Now consider a fellow who earns a college degree, pursues advanced education and holds down a number of professional positions. This man routinely makes charitable donations, hosts community gatherings and regularly volunteers to assist faith-based and social service organizations. He enjoys a good reputation and values his role as a faithful husband who helped raise several well-rounded children. How could the former attain the status of the latter? In fact I had been that first man who now irrevocably enjoys having become a new creature. This book was initially conceived as a catharsis. It is also a confession to reveal and purge vexing recollections of an ugly past. Hopefully it can also serve as a testimony of God's grace and mercy. Someone I admire said, "You cannot be what you cannot see". Those who practiced professional vocations and wholesome avocations were not often found in my childhood neighborhood. My most influential role models were pimps, hustlers and thieves. Undecided about which of them to follow I chose to brazenly incorporate all their vices. Prior to my eighteenth birthday there were few if any serious penalties if caught. On reaching the age of majority a lack of direction toward a progressive future discouraged meager efforts to earn redemption or embrace decency. Early adulthood only escalated my transgressions. I never had the power to change my nature or the path to death and hell I had been on. Thankfully it was in my power to let God change my heart and author a new story for my life. It had been perplexing to consider the things I once did and thought in contrast to being a child of God. I struggled to reconcile the then with the now. It felt as if I were considering two separate people, two different individuals who could not possibly be the same person. How can a hard-hearted sinner become a disciple of Christ? How is it possible for a man once bent on influencing others to join him on his quest for hell to escape condemnation, attain peace and a glorious inheritance? This transformation had seemed implausible at best, even impossible, until I had an epiphany. A blinding flash of the obvious revealed that life and death are incompatible. In truth I had been considering two different people. One of them died, the other had been reborn. My spirit has been renewed in Christ Jesus. It is written if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new. The life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.