The Difference

The Difference (by Tim Klink of Prison Discipleship Ministry)

Colossians 3:4

When Christ, who is Our Life, shall appear, then shall ye also appear with Him in glory.

When I was growing up, my mom would often send me to the corner store to get something. I would take my bike since it was several blocks away. My bike gave me a sense of freedom and adventure, even though it was just to get a loaf of bread.

Between our house and the store was a house where a kid from my grade school lived who could only be described as a bully. Next to his house was a driveway that was always filled with cars, and he would hide behind the cars when he saw me coming. He would jump out into the street in front of me, grab the handlebars of my bike, and I would come to a sudden stop. He would then proceed to demand that I give him 25 cents for the “privilege” of driving in front of his house. All I had was enough money to buy my mom’s groceries, and never anything extra. His threat was that he would beat me up if I didn’t pay him. After some wrangling, I would usually convince him to let me go, but the fear of him was always there. As time went on, I began taking other routes to the store but it took longer.

One of the days that I was asked to make the trip, I told my mom about what was going on. She seemed to have no idea and told me to just stand up to him, which I was not physically or emotionally equipped to do. Off to the store I went, and sure enough, out he came with his demands. He had me in the middle of the street, which was a side street and not busy. Suddenly we both noticed a car coming. He dragged me and my bike to the side, but I recognized the car and didn’t say a word. The car pulled up alongside of us, the window rolled down, and there was my dad staring at him. He immediately dropped his hold on my bike and ran into his house. My dad grinned at me, rolled up the window, and drove off.

What made the difference was the appearance of my dad. When we face issues today, allow Jesus to appear, and watch them disappear.