The Sum of the Parts

“For the wages of sin is death; but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 6:23).

Our school counselor wears many hats, but I think this one is my favorite: Part of her job is to read over the criminal records checks completed by parents, and decide whether or not this person is well-suited to be around kids at the elementary level. So, "traffic violation of speeding 10 miles over"--probably a safe bet. But what about "disorderly conduct?" Exactly how disorderly are we talking about here? Or the one on my husband's record--"criminal trespassing?" It's not as if parents write a paragraph explaining the event, although it sure is fun to try to speculate about it after the fact! :)

Eric's criminal trespassing thing is a pretty funny story, actually. His buddy went out to the lake to propose to his girlfriend, got the car stuck in the mud, then called Eric to come help him push the car out. It was a public park that had just closed about 1/2 an hour before Eric got there with some wood to put under the tires. The police didn't ask any questions, though. They were all 3 cited, and the charges later dismissed. It still shows up on his record.

But I digress. Criminal trespassing could also mean standing on top of a stack of milk crates outside some neighbor's window with a pair of binoculars, too, right? So you see where the explanation may come in handy? And how, oh how, is my school counselor wise enough about the character of strangers to make decisions about who's "safe" and who's not?

In the past couple of weeks, some crazy things have happened around here. I know a real jerk who did something--well--pretty wonderful, actually. And I know a really good guy who has done some really stupid things and been caught. It kind of leaves the mind reeling...recalibrating.... "Wait, that's a good person, but he did this...does that make him a bad person now?" or "How the heck did that toad manage to pull of something like that--it's almost decent!!"

Hmmm....you know what I'm realizing? I'm not qualified to decide. I haven't seen the narratives that would explain the stories, and I haven't seen the "Good" and the "Bad" list of totals that sum up all the parts of each person's life. Even if I had, I would imagine that the columns may not be as lopsided as I'd like to imagine.

But God has. And here's the thing that really blows the mind...while He's the ONLY one who would be qualified to be the Judge based on how good or bad a person is...He offers the free gift of eternal life to anyone who would accept it through faith in His son, Jesus, instead. Faith. Not "good lists" or "bad lists" or the things you hold over your kids' heads in December. God offers this gift through His Son, Jesus, freely to all. The bad guy and the good guy. The speed demon and the voyeur and the sucker friend who goes out in the middle of the night to check out an engagement ring and dig out a car.
It is my prayer that the people who are on my heart tonight accept that Gift--the Gift of salvation and then the Holy Spirit to put some HELP out there for the rest of their days on Earth. So that they can begin to live their lives according to the works that God has prepared for them to do...
...not in a crap shoot that may or may not balance out for them in the end.