Jesse Lopez

When I was working for ACU I drove to D/FW airport from Abilene on a Sunday morning (you absolutely CAN NOT trust the Abilene airport!). I was flipping through channels on the radio seeking some sort of spiritual encouragement (my Church of Christ upbringing leave me feeling EXTREMELY guilty if I don’t make it to worship on Sunday morning).

I was near the US-281 exit, close to Stephenville, and I picked up a station from Stephenville that was broadcasting the worship service of a local congregation. The pastor was introducing a gentleman named Jesse Lopez. Jesse had just been released from his third stint in prison for a variety of drug-related offenses. While in prison, a member of this congregation (sorry – I don’t remember the name) would visit Jesse and study the Bible with him. Jesse was baptized and began his own ministry within the prison. He was so grateful to this man from the church that he promised upon his release he would come share his story with the congregation.

When Jesse got up to speak it was quite obvious that he was not a frequent public speaker…nor was he extremely educated. But I’m always intrigued by the stories of men who have come to grips with the fact that they were lost…but have now been found (I’m jealous of people like that…but that’s another subject for another day).

As Jesse stumbled through his introduction he shared that he had come to know Christ quite a few years earlier. A gentleman from a different church had visited him in prison, studied the Bible with him, and encouraged him to “get saved.” And so he did. He prayed the sinner’s prayer and instantly felt like he was a new man. After all – he was saved!

But inside, he said, he was still the same man who had merely uttered a few rehearsed words.

When he got out of prison, he went back to his old habits – drugs, stealing, drinking, etc. And it landed him back in prison. It was after this second gentleman came to visit him that Jesse said he figured out what the problem was…and I loved the way he put it:

“There’s a huge, life-altering difference between being SAVED and being SET FREE.” He then went into a 30-minute, tear-laden narration of his life that really spoke to me.

I’ve always – ALWAYS – been a Christian. I’ve been inside a church building on a regular basis since the day I was born. I’ve always felt relative sure of my salvation…but I’ve always felt like those nagging little sins and habits pursue me everywhere I go.

It’s like Jesse Lopez said: “There’s a huge, life-altering difference between being SAVED and being SET FREE.” When your set free, the little things that used to bother you are replaced by the little things that bring glory to God and his Kingdom.

One of my favorite stories in the Bible is in the book of Jeremiah (chapter 37, I think) about a guy named Ebed-Melech who rescues Jeremiah from an old, dried-up cistern. Ebed-Melech grabs some ropes and gathers up some friends to help rescue Jeremiah. But he did one other “little thing” – he went to a room somewhere in the palace and grabbed some old rags for Jeremiah to put under his arms so he wouldn’t get rope burn.

I don’t know why – but I’ve always thought that was a really, really cool story. I also think it’s so convicting of the way many of us try to live as residents of the Kingdom of God. We take care of the big things quickly….but the “little things” (removing temptation from our lives, giving to those in need, practicing hospitality, praying with others, disciplining our children) receive lesser priority.

I need to pay attention to "little things."