The Difference God Makes

So about a month and a half ago, I talked about the story in the Bible with the two demon-possessed guys that lived in the tombs, naked and cutting themselves, at prayer-meeting. Jesus cast the demons out and sent them to live in the herd of pigs. After he restored them, one begged Jesus to take him with him. He wanted to be with Jesus and be His disciple. But Jesus said, "No, go back home and tell them what I have done for you." And the man instantly obeyed - no questions asked. Forgive my loose paraphrase. I decided that since we were on the subject of the two demoniacs that night, I would share an experience that I had when I was a teenager, with them.

When I was fourteen, I met a guy when we moved to a new town. I was completely into the heavy-metal scene. So when I showed up at school, he noticed me pretty quickly, wearing my black rock shirts and Levi jacket with the patches. Kids like us all gravitated toward each other because we had a common bond. Plus he thought I was "cute." We hung out, had fun and partied. We even went out for a little while. Nothing serious and when that was over, we were still friends. He was a nice kid, really. He went out with my sister and cousin as well. Haha!

So anyway, he had a friend, I'll call him "D". These two were pretty good friends, though this guy was a couple years older than we were. D also got to be good friends (party buddies) with my older brother. I was never really friends with him. D really partied a lot. Way more than my friend or the rest of us. Of course the people my brother hung out with did party more.

I listened to the pretty typical metal and rock of the day. Ozzy, Metallica, Black Sabbath, Iron Maiden, Led Zeppelin, Judas Priest... you get the picture. My friend and D listened to something darker, heavier, faster and very blatantly satanic. It was their favorite band. And it was different. You could feel the evil in the atmosphere when it played. So as any good metal fan would do, I borrowed the tape. And it grew on me. 

So time went on and we moved. I didn't totally get into that band enough to buy their tapes and saturate my brain with their music daily. They were a bit too evil for me. It had been a couple years since I really listened to them much. Of course you'd hear them around because other people would listen to them. So when I was 17, my best friend and a bunch of her friends were going to one of their concerts in Oakland. I decided to go. I was a concert freak and went to as many as I could. By this time, I didn't do anything but drink. But my friend and her friends were all frying on acid that night (freaky!!!).

Back in the 80's and 90's, concerts were all general admission. So I was always down in the front, pretty much squashed and crammed into the barricades, usually on the right side. No wonder I say, "huh?" a lot!!! I can't fathom that now!! Yuck!!

We drove down to Oakland and I was a little apprehensive about this concert. My best friend, Christy, would brag to all her friends about me, saying, she has killer instincts...she always knows when the cops are coming. She was pretty amazed by that. Probably came from living with a mom that always seemed to have a warrant. My "killer instincts" were telling me that I wanted to sit this one out! When I walked into the concert, I heard the familiar music and felt the familiar evil feeling. I looked at the guys onstage playing. They were playing really fast thrash metal, all business. And I saw the crowd. Some were moving the way they should. Moshing and such. But really what struck me as so bazaar and eerie, even then, were the amount of guys standing stock still with their gaze locked on the band...not moving at all with their arms straight down at their side. I had been to enough concerts to know this was weird. I remember thinking that these guys must have been possessed or something. So I went and sat in the balcony. I wanted no part of that crowd. I was really glad that I hadn't really gotten into that group. 

I shared more detail here than at prayer-meeting. There were several young people there and I wanted them to realize, the devil is real and not to ever play around with the occult. I told them, that when I was young, I knew there was a God, because I knew there was a devil. We concluded by talking about God's super-natural power to rescue even the most hopeless cases.

The strange thing that occurred in the time that has passed since my telling that story, was that my sister told me that someone told her they found "D" on Facebook. It has been 25 years since I've seen him!!!! I can't believe where the time goes!! So I looked him up. He was worse than what I expected to find. I looked on his wall and read his posts. He was so creepy. Some (most) of the stuff he said was just very perverted. I was thinking...and he has kids?! He was going out with girls that were way younger. Into drugs and who knows what all. He was just out there. Not someone I would want to be around...at all.

I don't know if finding D got me thinking about my friend from when I was 14, his friend, too, or not. But I looked him up. And wow!! What a difference!! He is happily married with three little girls. I noticed that he posted a Bible verse on his wall and was speaking out against drugs. I was so happy. So relieved. And so very thankful. Something must have happened to him along the way.

Tonight, at prayer-meeting, I told them about finding my friend and finding D and what a huge difference there was between the two. I barely talked to my old friend...I didn't get his life story, but I can see God's fingerprints are all over it. I know somehow, some way, God has had an impact on this guy. 

Most of the people I used to know, that I've come across or heard about, have just continued on that same path. I have family that didn't come out of it, either. Most are drug addicts and alcoholics, in prison or have been, they are miserable and trapped in their old lives. I see this and my heart hurts for them, because I know the difference. I have been there and am now here. I know how amazing it is to have God as my best Friend and man are they getting jipped in this life! If I could only somehow transfer my experience with God into them so they could see and feel what they are missing, they'd drop everything for it. In a heartbeat. I have no doubt about that! God fills my life with love and joy and meaning and wonder. Even in the midst of pain, He is always right here loving me, giving me joy. 

So all we can do is tell what He has done for us. And pray! Never underestimate the power of your testimony. The power of a changed life.