Monday, September 20, 2010

Jimmy was collecting cans to supplement his and his wife's income. We talked for awhile and I was able to get some of his story.

Jimmy is 67 years old. He was born in rural Kansas in 1944 and had 2 sisters and 1 brother. He has always worked outdoors in the harvest fields and retired after 30 years working as a cemetary caretaker.

He has 2 sons and 2 daughters. 1 son was put up for adoption when he was a baby, 1 daughter is estranged from him, and 1 son and grandson are close to him.

He grew up in the Methodist church and at some point in his past he accepted Jesus as his Lord and the One who saves him from God's judgement.

His thinking is that he will hopefully be allowed into heaven. He says he won't know until he gets there, but that generally he's been a good person.

I explained to him that as one who has received Jesus as the One who rescues him from judgement, that he doesn't have to hope for the best. Since Jesus is his Savior, his sins have been paid for and God is keeping no record of wrongs on him.

For whatever reason, he wasn't able to grasp this, although I explained it several times.

We prayed together. We prayed that God would heal his relationship with his daughter, reconcile him to his son, and that God would give him clarity of mind to understand that heaven has been given to him as a free gift because he asked Jesus to save him from judgement.

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