| 25 September 2017
About three months ago, I was getting my dirty car out of the garage in order to get it washed after a trip to the mountains, when a man asked that I counsel him as he had marriage problems. I put the car back into the garage and invited him into my office. His story was that he was a paid assassin and had been in jail for several years, when unexpectedly he was released from jail. He said that he was a hard worker, and when in jail he had worked to send some money to his wife and two children. When he got out of jail, he immediately went to his home. To his surprise, his wife was living with another man. What was he to do?
I tried to point him to the Lord Jesus, the One who forgives sins and transforms lives. Though I spoke to him about the thief on the cross and how Jesus had forgiven him, he said that he had sinned too much and that God wouldn't forgive him. But he said that he wanted to get out of the life of crime. The police were already looking for him because he had participated in an assault.
He said that he was afraid that some time he woud get into a gun battle with the police, and rather than him killing them, they might kill him. What he wanted to do was go to Brazil where some of his former friends were working and had offered him a job with them. He wanted me to finance his trip to Brazil and to give him enough money to bribe the police to let him through.
I told him that I coudn't help him in that, and that the best thing for him to do was to get right with God and turn himself in to the police, that God would be with him in jail. That was when he pulled a pistol out of the bag that he had slung over his chest, and asked: "Are you going to give me the money, or not?" I told him that I was not going to give him the money, and that what he needed to do was to repent of his sins and change his life now. A better situation in Brazil was not going to change his heart which was corrupt. Only Jesus could change his life. He put his gun away and listened for a few moments while I shared the Scriptures with him.
Again he pulled out his pistol and demanded that I give him money. I got up from my chair and opened the office door saying: "Put your gun away. I have given you what you asked for at the door. You asked for counsel, and I have given it to you. You may leave now. He got up, put his gun away, and I was able to lead him to the outside door. I thank the Lord for His protection.
