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Friends United Meeting |
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June 1997
A Relationship with Jesus
By Jim Towne
Susan came by the church to talk. Fresh from a thirty-day treatment facility, she looked closer to fifty-five than her actual age of forty. Years of addiction to alcohol had left her body in bad shape. She was committed to staying sober, but she wasn't sure how her "higher power" fit into the picture.
"I have room in my life for a higher power, but I don't have much use for churches--or preachers. I'm only here because I'm feeling bad and need to talk." That was the beginning of our friendship.
Over the next few years, Susan taught me a lot about honesty, the twelve steps of Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) and the help that comes from recognizing one's powerlessness. I attended AA meetings with her, read the literature she gave me, and became conversant on the subject of alcoholism.
What I learned from her has helped me personally and strengthened my ministry. What she learned from me was the name of her "higher power"-Jesus.We talked often about God's love, mercy, compassion, and forgiveness. Susan especially loved the story of the prodigal son. She decided to name Jesus as her "higher power." Soon I began to see signs of spiritual growth in Susan. The sins that had marked her life were slowly disappearing. Desires to follow Christ and be involved in ministry were surfacing.
Susan was becoming a disciple of Jesus.My experience with Susan, and other alcoholics, has taught me two valuable lessons: (1) Alcohol abuse has a profoundly negative impact on families which can last for generations. (2) The love of Jesus can bring new life to alcoholics, to their family members, and to their descendants.
If Friends will come alongside those looking for help, put up with some foul talk and different ideas, give their time and their love, then what was true of the church at Corinth can be true of us. "Or do you not know that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived... drunkards...shall not inherit the kingdom of God. And such were some of you; but you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ..." (1 Corinthians 6:9-11).
Jim Towne is a Friends pastor in Colorado Springs, and has been a fifth-step listener for the Alcoholics Anonymous program. A shorter version of this story appeared in Friends Voice, the newsletter of Evangelical Friends International-North America Region, edited by Becky Towne.
Copyright (c) 1997 Friends United Meeting
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