Holy Spirit Has no Grandchildren

I say a couple of weeks ago at Mayor’s prayer Breakfast listening to Serge LeClerc’s testimony. He is the Elected Member of the Legislative Assembly, serving as the Secretary for Corrections in Saskatchewan. Formerly known as a Canada Most Wanted he is a product of rape born in an abandoned building to a teenage girl, moving from a poverty-stricken inner-city youth to a young offender, a runaway street kid, a gang leader and a drug king-pin who served a total of 21 years in some of Canada's toughest prisons while battling a twenty-year drug addiction. He found Christ in jail. Christ changed His life. His book “Untwisted” gives powerful testimony to the personal experience of transforming power of Christ.

Serge spoke about the “stupid middle class families” who pursue their careers, and dish out cash to their kids as a substitute for their time away. Their kids in turn go and buy pleasures the wicked one provides to destroy them. Then the parents cry for the problems in society.

Recently we completed “Celebrating Life in Recovery” evangelistic meetings. One night we watched a testimony from Clifford Harris who for twenty years “danced with death” – unable to snap the chains of drug addiction that imprisoned him. Twenty years of servitude to the inner demons that drove him from his home, his family, and himself. Until he found Christ’s love himself. Cliff was raised third generation Adventist, his cousins are church leaders all over USA. But he himself never discovered Christ personally, until after the mess.

As we are focusing on Family life, on reaching out to youth and children we must understand that our experience has only exemplary value to others. Unless each person, young and old, personally, individually discovers the merit of relationship with Christ they cannot benefit redemption. I am talking about Risen Christ, not just a historical figure of 2000 years old narratives. I am talking about Christ Who is Alive in the World today through the Holy Spirit, not a doctrinal definition of Who He was and What He did.

In redemption the Holy Spirit has no grandchildren. Everyone has to be born again directly, not second hand by a virtue of parents, or relatives, or friends. Have you had your experience with Christ? Are you in relationship with Christ? Do you speak to your children about their discovery of Christ? Do you challenge your friends about their walk in relationship with Saviour?

The frustration many teenagers experience with the Church is precisely in the fact that their expectation of meeting Christ was not fulfilled. And they are not interested in substitutes of religious rituals and legalistic promises. Church! I appeal to you, Fathers, Mothers, Mature Christians, help everyone to meet Lord Jesus now!