How Powerful is the Gospel? (A Visit with My Exterminator)

I just had the most amazing conversation with the guy who came out to exterminate my house for bugs–Robert.  I asked him about his tattoos, and he felt like sharing (later saying that he was glad to get stuff off of his chest).

His child life was terrible.  His mom and dad were druggies.  His dad committed suicide when Robert was 17 years old, and his mom committed suicide 17 days later.  He started drinking heavily, with no hope in sight.  However, he said that his life changed on December 17th, 2008.  A stranger made friends with him, bought him dinner, let him move in with him and his wife, and started taking him to church.  This eventually (August, 2008) led to a point where he believed the gospel message of Jesus Christ–that he was guilty of sin and that Christ died for his sins.

Now he’s one of the most confident believers I’ve ever met.  He hasn’t taken a drink since 2009.  He has a wife who is a strong believer, a young daughter who will soon be baptized, and a young son who he has started taking to church.  He has started a prison ministry, and he sees everything as a blessing from God.  How powerful is the gospel?

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