BEAR IN THE BACKWOODS
“Manasseh did evil in the eyes of the Lord” (2 Chronicles 33:2)
My wife and I were in the hills of Colorado celebrating our 50th wedding anniversary. We had the distinct pleasure of meeting a genuine backwoods bear of a man. We sat with him and several friends near the campfire one night. He told us how he called the backwoods his home for decades; and had been on his own since the age of 15. He wanted nothing to do with city life, so he fled the West Coast and hitchhiked to Colorado. He later came into great wealth from the discovery of natural gas on his property. Prosperity can change a person, but not Bear. Wild animals wouldn’t want to tangle with this guy. He was/is backwoods to the bone. The evening was beautiful; family and friends had gathered for the barbeque, a starry night, and some singing near the campfire.
“Preacher”, he said to me, “I am getting older, and I’m sure that I don’t have much longer…to live. (Fear may have struck him because his common-law wife had just suffered several heart attacks). “Besides,” he said, “I’ve got a serious problem: I am afraid to die. I’ve been a bad man for so long, I don’t know how God would ever consider letting the likes of me into heaven. Do you suppose that God could even love a terrible person like me?”
“God’s endless love reaches out to all,” I told him. “The Bible tells us that God desires that none die in their sins, but that all should repent and find his wonderful love and forgiveness.” He continued to battle with thoughts of his bad life. After some time, Bear was warming up to the idea that he too could be forgiven. I suggested that we not focus on our bad, but rather on the goodness of God. I shared the basic gospel of God’s grace, how he sent his Son, Jesus, to die for our sins, and how Jesus rose from the dead so that he could offer forgiveness to ALL who would come. He understood and asked how he could be certain of eternal life with Jesus.
I sensed that it was time to bring the Lord, himself, into our meeting; so, we all joined hands and began to pray. Bear humbled himself before God and his friends asking Jesus to forgive his sins. Bear openly prayed to Jesus for forgiveness – the riches of God’s grace were lavished upon him, and the promise of eternal life was now a reality. It was an amazing evening, seeing God’s love, grace, and forgiveness in action.
For anyone who is reading this, let me cite a few examples of extreme forgiveness from Scripture: King David was forgiven of adultery and murder (Psalm 51), Manasseh, King of Judah was forgiven of extreme evil: Idol worship, sacrifice of his children, desecrating the temple, worship of stars, witchcraft and he consulted mediums. “God was moved by his prayers and forgave him”. (2 Chron. 33:12-13). The thief on the cross is a great example of incredible forgiveness – believing in Jesus during his final moments.
As I spoke God’s word that evening, I realized how much each of us is dependent upon our heavenly father’s love – “Jesus said to him, ‘I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me’” (John 14:6). “Believe on the Lord Jesus and be saved!” (Acts 16:31)