Charles Colson was once only thought of as President Richard Nixon's "hatchet man" and "incapable of humanitarian thoughts." His 1973 conversion to Christianity was followed by a guilty plea to obstruction of justice and a seven-month prison sentence in 1974. Colson went on to establish the Prison Fellowship Ministries in 1976, fulfilling a promise made to fellow inmates that he would "never forget those behind bars." He released his first book, "Born Again," in 1976, and it instantly became an international bestseller. He has authored 16 books that have collectively sold more than 5 million copies.
In his book 'Kingdoms in Conflict' he shares a story about a discussion he and his son, Chris, were having about the evidence for God. Colson argued that if there were no God, it would be impossible to account for the moral law, his grandson Charlie, then 4, interrupted.
"But Grandpa," he said, "there is a God." Colson nodded, assuring him that I agreed.
Charlie then said, "…if there wasn't a God, Grandpa, people couldn't love each other."
Think about Charlie's response for a moment. 'Without God, we could not love each other.' I agree with Colson; Charlie is right. "Only the overarching presence and provision of God assures that both Christians and non-Christians enjoy human dignity and a means to escape our naturally sinful condition. Without God's presence, we could not survive together on this planet; nor could we love one another." [Charles Colson, Kingdoms in Conflict (New York: William Morrow/Zondervan Publishing House, 1987), 71.]
1 John 4 has become my favorite scripture. Verses 7-8 says, "Beloved, let us love one another, because love is from God; everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. Whoever does not love does not know God, for God is love."Understanding scripture is not as simple as reading the text. We need to be open to the Holy Spirit's guidance and remember the character of God as we read. When we fail to see a God of love in our reading, we do not see God's true character that is predominant throughout scripture and our template for reading the stories. To be Christian is to be intentional about living out our lives into the character of God. “We love because God first loved us” (1 John 4:19). When we fail to choose (and it is a choice) not to treat another person as God's child, with dignity and respect, we are not only failing to live into the character of God; we are discounting the value of our relationship with God.
We are God's created, created to be in relationship with God, and we, individually and collectively as a people, have failed God many times over. Thanks be to God that God is love, and love forgives, always.
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