Frank's Cottage

The Calgary Herald headline intrigued me from the moment I read it:

City council faces ‘Come-to-Jesus moment’
as shrinking value of downtown towers leaves huge tax gap

The headline writer seemed to assume that most readers would comprehend the expression. But I don’t think that’s true; I spent more than 25 years in print journalism and I’m not even sure I fully understand it. So I looked it up.

UrbanDictionary.com appears to have the most reasonable definition of ‘Come-to-Jesus moment’: “An epiphany in which one realizes the truth of a matter; a sudden, intuitive perception of or insight into the reality or essential meaning of something; coming clean and admitting failures.”

I like the last part of that definition because it links back to the original meaning of the phrase: people realizing they’re not living right and fixing the problem by becoming followers of Jesus of Nazareth.

Serious Jesus followers like me believe He is the divine Son of God and He is God’s gift to anyone willing to accept Him. Those who say yes to that gift find out Jesus has the power to change their lives.

Need evidence? Paul, an ancient opponent of Jesus followers, helped arrest and persecute people who followed Him. Then he had a spiritual encounter with Jesus; after that, Paul dedicating the rest of his life to starting churches and telling people how Jesus made him a new and better person.

Not all transformations are so radical and that might be comforting if you’re afraid of losing the essence of who you are. Sometimes, Jesus gradually tweaks personalities, strengths/weaknesses, likes/dislikes so people come closer to who God intended them to be. That’s what is happening to me and the process won’t end until I finish with this life.

Are you facing a ‘Come-to-Jesus moment’? The fact that you’re reading this blog suggests the answer might be yes. Keep in mind that no one on this planet is free of failures, disappointments, tragedies or mistakes. All of us have missed the mark on who God created us to be. Realizing this truth can be your ‘Come-to-Jesus moment’.

If you’re not in this situation, do you know someone who is? I suggest you send them a link to this blog; it might open the door to a spiritual conversation—and if you feel ill-equipped for such a conversation, please include my email address – fdking@hotmail.com. I’ll be happy to connect with them.