The Real Need (Part One)
A fool does not delight in understanding, but only in revealing his own mind.
Proverbs 18:2
Proverbs 18:2
As I settled into my seat on the small regional jet, I noticed that the man next to me was embroiled in an intense cell-phone conversation. Although he was doing his best to control his anger and keep his voice down, his conversation was unavoidable for me — and all the passengers within two rows of him.
He was talking to his former wife. Listening to him was like watching a sword fight where you can only see one of the competitors. With his blade, he verbally sliced and pierced the woman on the other end of the phone. The conversation ended with a verbal decapitation when he declared, "And you are no longer my wife!"
He demanded to talk with his daughter, and when she came on the phone, the sword fighter was instantly transformed into a puppy. He began by compassionately asking her questions, but at the end of the conversation he made one last thrust of the sword, saying her mom was a "wimp."
After he hung up the phone, this noble warrior informed me, "Any man can be a father," he said, "but being a parent takes a real commitment. Hard work." I wondered if he was using the same dictionary that I did.
He mentioned that he was living with a woman who was expecting his child. I asked if the baby's birth might lead them to get married, and his response was, "Why spoil a good thing with a piece of paper?"
As I sat there, God reminded me of something: What is this man's real need?
As a sinner myself, saved by grace, I recognized that this man's real need was to know God's love and forgiveness. The warrior had certainly made a mess of his life, but there was One who would forgive him and could help him clean it up.
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