There is this guy I know...

There is this guy I know...
His name is Corey.   

I never would have imagined that I would know him like I know him now.

I never would have imagined that this kid would turn into the young man that I gladly call my brother and friend today.

Sometimes you just misjudge a person.  You assume things about them when you see them for the first time... You see the way they dress, the people they hang out with.  You make assumptions.  

I did this with Corey.  None of my assumptions were bad.  They were just off.  

I assumed that school, sports, and friends were most likely priorities in his life, and that his church interactions were for social connection more than anything.

Those things may have been true about him at that point, I am not sure...

After getting to know him, I learned that Corey and I share a couple common interests.  Things like beards and large helpings of steak.  Man things.  

Corey called me yesterday after school and asked if I wanted to grab some coffee. 

I was honestly unprepared for this conversation.   

Corey just got back from a trip to Nicaragua.  I was excited to hear about the experiences he had while he was there.   The things that he saw.  The way that this trip had changed the way he looked at the world.  The fun stories.  The odd food he had eaten.   The dump.  The kids.  The games.  He didn't have too much to say about all of that.

I asked him how he was feeling getting back into his normal routine.

He said not very well.  

I know that there can be a culture shock coming home when you have been out of the country for a bit. 

This isn't what Corey was talking about though. 

Corey had the look on his face of someone who had tasted something incredible and was worried they would not taste this again for some time. 

He talked about how when he got there he felt a pull from God to separate himself somewhat from the group and just spend some time alone with God.

Corey talked about a challenge he had received over the summer to make his faith his own.   To not believe something just because he was told it was true.  To seek God and know who He is not just WHAT He is.

This happened for Corey.  

Corey spent some time with Jesus last week.  

Corey saw things he had never seen before.  

What happened inside Corey was almost impossible to explain in words.

Corey brought me nearly to tears explaining to me how he experienced Jesus personally.  They had conversations.  They sat together.  Things that had in one moment brought fear were turned into reminders of His presence.  

We sat talking about our friendship with Christ and looked around the coffee shop and Corey mentioned how difficult it is that the people around us just don't understand.  They don't get it.  The greatest thing on earth is unknown to even the church.  

People don't understand.

It is sad.

Corey talked also about grace.  He said multiple times that Christ's recurring message to him over the previous week was, "My grace is sufficient."

It's enough. 

It conquers.

It triumphs.

It's better.

There have been several things theming in my life this year.  One of them came up in my chat with Corey... it was the discussion of angels. 

The song Angels by Bethel has some of the most simple lyrics yet in my mind so powerful and profound. 

It says, 

Calling all angels,

Calling the watchmen angels on the walls

To come and sing with us

Come sing that the Lord is good

Come sing that His love endures

Come sing that the Lord is good

Hallelujah

A simple song that invites warrior angels to leave their posts in the presence of an all powerful God to worship.

So I sat with Corey.  Sat listening to his story with a massive smile on my face until he had to go.

In a simple conversation lasting less than an hour with someone half my age, Jesus reached down from heaven and grabbed me from my seat and lifted me in an embrace brought me face to face with Himself and said, "You needed that reminder, didn't you?"

He reminded me of his sufficient grace.   
His unconditional love for me.  
Jesus and I are irreversibly connected.
He is active and alive!
He is completely involved in the big and the small.

So....
There is this guy I know...  
His name is Jesus, but yesterday he looked a lot like Corey Jones.