Not Finished

We have been re-created, regenerated in the image of Christ, in the power of the Holy Spirit - we are new and we are free! 2nd Corinthians 5 says:

17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.

As new creations of the Lord, we have a responsibility to live in the power of that reality:
20 Now then, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were pleading through us: we implore you on Christ's behalf, be reconciled to God.
21 For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.

Jesus became sin for us - He became our substitute on the cross.  We could not save ourselves and could not pay the penalty for our sins.  We deserve eternal punishment and separation from God because of our sin, but Jesus took that punishment and brought us near to our Heavenly Father by His death, burial, and resurrection.  And, each day, the challenge is to live in the power of the new creation rather than in the insufficiency of the flesh.

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Romans 6 reminds us of the significance of our salvation experience and that we are new people in
Christ:
4 Therefore we were buried with Him through baptism into death, that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.
5 For if we have been united together in the likeness of His death, certainly we also shall be in the likeness of His resurrection,
6 knowing this, that our old man was crucified with Him, that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves of sin.

The legendary country music singer took the stage, accompanied by his wife.  Well-wishers had celebrated his induction to the Country Music Hall of Fame, singing songs such as "Forever and Ever, Amen" and "Three Wooden Crosses."  Finally, it was the star's turn to take the stage.

And, there he was, with his wife, Mary, helping him take the steps to the stage.  According to a report on People.com, she..."encapsulated her husband’s lengthy career as one that would 'change the face and the fate of country music.' She shared about his five months in the hospital in 2013, facing double pneumonia, collapsed lungs, comas, brain surgeries, transfusions, tracheotomies.  The article says that he faced a massive stroke three years ago.

Mary went on to say her husband "...stared death in the face, but death blinked,” adding, “Today God’s proof of a miracle stands before you.”  Then she talked about how she and her husband still sing to each other every day.

The People narrative continued with Mary saying:

"It’s a special thing to hear Randy Travis sing, I think – don’t you agree?” The audience greeted her words with bittersweet applause, hardly anticipating what she would say next: “Ladies and gentlemen, heroes and friends, today I want to give back to you the voice of Randy Travis.”

An audible gasp filled the room as Travis moved toward the microphone with a broad smile, and he began to sing. Brooks, still on stage, steadied himself and tipped back his head, surely to keep tears from rolling down his cheeks.

The lyrics weren’t crisp. The melody was unsteady. But the sound was clearly, unmistakably Randy Travis. When he finished the final note, one more precious time, a deafening ovation greeted one of country music’s greatest voices.

The song: "Amazing Grace."

It has been a tough life for this country music legend.  A CBN.com interview from many years ago documented his rough life that was punctuated by alcohol and drugs.  He began to read the Bible, and 10 years after that, he "surrendered his life to the Lord" and was baptized.  He did ministry in churches and was even featured in several Christian films.

But, things really began to unravel after his divorce in 2010.  A timeline on the E! Online website documents the tragic tale.  He was arrested for public intoxication in 2012 - in front of a church.  He was sued by his ex-wife, who was also his manager for a number of years, for breaching their management contract.  He wrecked his car, was arrested for DWI and making threats against the arresting officers - and was found to have no clothes on.  Two weeks later, he was cited for simple assault after a fight.

In early 2013, he plead guilty to the DWI charge in the arrest that occurred following the wreck. Among other things, he was sentenced to two years probation, and was ordered to spend 30 days at a treatment facility.  About 5-1/2 months later, he was hospitalized.

Also inducted to the Hall of Fame were Fred Foster and Charlie Daniels, who had invited Travis to join him onstage at the CMA Music Festival this summer, according to Rare Country, which quotes Daniels as saying:

“That meant a lot to him, but I felt bad for him when you stop and think about what a great artist this is and how this sickness has robbed him of his mobility and his voice. I pray for Randy every day. What a wonderful miracle it would be for him to come back and sing and praise the Lord on his guitar. I’m sure he would.”

So, there is the rise and fall of Randy Travis - but apparently, even though he has stumbled, badly, But, even through it all, I know that God is not finished with him.  How can I be so sure?  He's still here on this earth.  And, that's our story, too - we've been brought into a relationship with Christ and bought for a purpose, so that our souls might be save and so that we might testify to God's greatness!

And our human story is not a perfect story, but the good news is that it has been intersected with a perfect God.  That's really the story communicated through Amazing Grace - Jesus came to save sinners, or, as the author, John Newton wrote, a "wretch like me."  I don't know the state of Randy Travis' heart or relationship with God - I trust that He has repented of his sins, some of which were played out in a very public way, and recognized that God has given Him the gift of life, a life that could have ended within the past three years.

But, again, that's not so much different than our stories.

We will stumble, we may even fall.  But, the key for us is what we do after the sin.  Through Jesus and His "amazing grace," we can get back up again.  By asking for and receiving His forgiveness, we can do better, we can experience the power of God to overcome the power of sin.  The Travis story is certainly a cautionary tale about someone who reverted to old sin patterns, and we can be reminded those old patterns - the old man, or old self - are powerful.  But, we have the capability to walk in the new man, the new creation, and experience newness of life.