Highs and Lows

This past Sunday, Wonder City experience the high of a baptism. A 17-year-old young man who goes by A.V. was baptized. This baptism has been a long time coming. This young man has attended Wonder City for several years with his family. He has struggled with the idea of having to get his life together before giving his life to God. That is one of the biggest reasons I hear people give in the neighborhood for not becoming a Christian--having to wait to become a Christian until they take care of their sins. They have a hard time grasping that is what Jesus does when we give our lives to him. Finally a few weeks ago (just before Jeremy was shot) A.V. called me and told me he wanted to be baptized. Which we did this past Sunday.

However, this high was followed by a low on Monday evening when this same young man was arrested for shoplifting. His mom dropped him off at the grocery store to get some food and the next thing she knows he is being escorted out in handcuffs by a police man. According to A.V. the reason he was shoplifting was to get out of the gang which he belonged and this was what they required to get "jumped out." He spent Monday night in jail and had a court appearance on Wednesday morning.

Life is often messy in urban environments where the desire to do the right thing and peer pressure to do otherwise is often much stronger than anything I have ever personally experienced. I don't know what exactly is ahead of this young man as he deals with his legal issues, but I hope that he learns from this experience. I also hope that he is telling the truth and he was trying to get out of the gang since he had given his life to Jesus.