Adopted by God

 "But in your hearts revere Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have." 1 Peter 3:15

    Becket Cook, a gay man living in Los Angeles, had been unsettled in his heart for the past six months. Though he initially embraced this lifestyle as the one for him, he had sensed how empty is was, that it was not going to sustain him and that he had no purpose or meaning in his life.

    While at a coffee shop with a friend, the two noticed a group of people at the neighboring table who had their Bibles open. "I had never before seen a Bible in public in L.A.," he recalled during his testimony. Then, when the group paused to pray before their meal, he was intrigued and turned to ask them, "Are you guys Christians?" A conversation ensued about which Becket felt they were ready with answers to his questions as they presented the gospel to him. This led him to accept an invitation to attend their church. It was at the service that following Sunday that Becket accepted the Lord Jesus as his Savior and was flooded by the love of the Holy Spirit. He sat in his pew and wept as he understood he had just been adopted as God's child, holy and dearly loved.

    I got to wondering how many times I may have ignored an opportunity to show others the love of Christ. If I am truly honest with myself, there have been times when I let my temporal judgments stand in the way of the work of the Holy Spirit, not seeing people as Jesus sees them. The Spirit within me has been working on me about this all week. Convicting scripture has been jumping off the page lately, and the messages in periodicals or devotionals I've read have poked me in the ribs until I feel sore. Here's one that I clipped and taped in a prominent area of my home as a reminder: "People are people; they want to be loved." 

    In my heart I must first revere Christ as Lord, then be prepared to share the hope of the gospel with others. I don't need a degree in theology, I just need an open Bible and a heart full of love.

"How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them? And how can anyone preach unless they are sent? As it is written: 'How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!'" Romans 10: 14, 15

To learn more about the transformation of Becket Cook, his story is recorded in his book, "A Change of Affection."