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TheDiscipleMD

When I first met him, it was not under the best of circumstances. It has been decades since then. He was a good man who had taken a wrong detour from the straight and narrow path. He loved his wife and children, yet he undermined his love of both in a moment of weakness. Alone and spending much time away from home, he had been unfaithful to himself, his wife, and his God. Yet, he had recognized his mistake and wanted to make it right. He had lost the respect and honor of many who knew him.  But he never gave up hope in the power of the redemption of the Savior of the world, Jesus Christ.

He humbled himself, and over the ensuing years, I saw a broken-hearted man begin to heal. His disposition immediately improved, his demeanor changed, and he seemed to enjoy life more fully. His wife appeared to forgive him, and he began to demonstrate the attributes of Christ in his daily living.  I  saw before my very own eyes the power of the redemption of Christ, and I give thanks for being a witness to it. It was inspiring to know that, as the scriptures have testified, it works!

Watching the great transformative power of redemption on that man brought my mind back to men in scriptural history who, finding themselves lost, became new again. It is replete with examples of the power of the Savior to change men’s hearts, be it Saul of Tarsus, who became the great apostle Paul, or Alma the Younger, who became the head of the church here in the Americas. Paul devoted his entire life to the preaching of the gospel and became so powerful that even a king, to whom he preached in front of, is compelled to say, “Almost thou persuadest me to be a Christian” (Acts 26:28) And Alma changed so dramatically from his sinful life that he declared:

“O that I were an angel, and could have the wish of mine heart, that I might go forth and speak with the trump of God, with a voice to shake the earth, and cry repentance unto every people. Yea, I would declare unto every soul, as with the voice of thunder, repentance and the plan of redemption, that they should repent and come unto our God, that there might not be sorrow upon all the face of the earth.” (Alma 29:1-2)

The power of the redemptive nature of the sacrifice of Jesus Christ, the world’s Savior, is real. It can replace the sorrow of the world with joy. It can change the heart and soul of anyone willing to come unto Him in humility.  It can transform one with a sinful nature to one who desires to be an “angel” of God. I know it is true. I witnessed it in that man I knew so many years now gone. And I have seen it in many lives, including my own. I “thank” the Lord for the gift of his “redemption,” which he makes available to my friend and all of us.