Through a combination of events, I was reminded this week of how vast and different our world is. We easily forget that even within our own area, there are completely different subcultures happening all around us. There are so many lost and broken people out there who just need someone to care. They just need to know that they are loved. Most of us know who can love them more than any human could yet when given an opportunity, we find our tongues.

This week I wish that I could say that I loosened up my tongue but I can't. As I sat in a waiting room in an environment that I was not used to, what I saw and heard saddened me. I overheard the gentleman next to me talking to another man about how long he had been waiting and that he was late for meeting a woman. He was letting the man know, in rather crude language, about what he was going to be doing in the next hour with this woman. He was obviously looking for self gratification at whatever the cost.

The man he was talking to, after having a good laugh and congratulating the man next to me on how lucky he was, proceeded to tell about how he was going to so "baked" (on drugs) in an hour that he couldn't wait for his afternoon to get started.

So this was the conversation back and forth for about 10 minutes until the man next to me was called from the waiting room. At this point, I couldn't help but overhear two strangers meeting for the first time behind me as they began a conversation. In a matter of minutes, they had begun to tell about their good and bad times in prison.

Over in another corner sat a lady who was getting tired of waiting and began to get quite loud. She had called someone on her cell phone and began using the F-word, in its multiple tenses, to let the friend on the other end of the line know how long she had been sitting around. In the course of about 3 minutes, the friend had convinced her (or maybe she convinced herself, who knows) that waiting a second longer was not worth her time and she left in a huff.

There were several other instances that took place in that hour that I sat around, and I realized what a broken and fallen world we truly live in. So often I think that we get into our own little routines and we fail to see the people that are living life all around us on a daily basis. People that we pass in the mall, grocery store, coffeehouse, school, work, and streets-all of them have stories. I realized that I am content in my own comfort zone and that I like to be around certain people. Put me outside of that comfort zone for more than a few minutes and I am ready to quickly get back to my bubble.

As I was leaving the waiting room, I realized that I had gone from sorrow at the state these people were in, to pity, to annoyance, to piety and a sense that I was some how better than they were. The more I thought about it that afternoon, I realized that I am no greater and no less in the eyes of our savior, Jesus. We are ALL God's children and we have all been created in the image of God, with a God given purpose. The Bible says in Jeremiah "...for I know the plans I have for you." In Psalms, we read that God knew us before we were even born, while we are still in our mother's womb.

This weekend I read Isaiah 1:18 which says "No matter how deep the stain of your sins, I can remove it. I can make you as clean as freshly fallen snow. Even if you are stained as red as crimson, I can make you as white as wool." That is not an exclusionary statement; it is for everyone, everywhere. No matter how far we have drifted from Christ, no matter how stained our lives have become, we can always come back to our Father in heaven who is there with his open arms to accept us and love us. He can clean up our stains and make them as white as snow.

If you have felt that you have gone to far and that you are so stained and soiled that there is no possible way for you to accept Christ and be in His presence, take this promise from the word of God to heart. No matter what we have done and no matter how far we have run away from Christ, all we have to do is turn around and he is there, right beside you, ready to put his arms around you and love and accept you. You don't have to earn his love; you don't have to do good things for awhile and try to walk back up the road that you have already traveled down to find Christ. He is right there and all you have to do is turn around and start walking with Him.

I would encourage you to find a friend this week to talk to if you have made this turn and ask them to walk beside you. Ask them to help keep you accountable this week, and the next, and the next. If you are fighting an addiction with drugs, alcohol, sex, pornography, or even if you have any abusive behavior or anger issues, I would encourage you to find someone that you can trust and ask them to help you. First, I would ask that you spend some time before your creator and ask for His forgiveness and hand over the burdens that have been weighing you down. Jesus says in the Bible "my yoke is easy and my burden is light." The Bible also says cast all your anxiety (worries or cares) on him because he cares for you. (1 Peter 5:7)

Final Thought: God loves everyone more than any of us could ever fathom. He desires for you to want to connect with him on a personal level and he is as close as the mention of his name if we would only humble ourselves and ask.