“Everyone who sins breaks the law; in fact, sin is lawlessness. But you know that he appeared so that he might take away our sins. And in him is no sin. No one who lives in him keeps on sinning. No one who continues to sin has either seen him or known him.” – 1 John 3:4-6
When John Collier was a child, his house was a battle zone.
"My father had a background of violence," John said. "He abused alcohol and drugs. He was a womanizer, and he pretty much terrorized our home."
John’s anger toward his father grew. He stayed in trouble at school and ran away from home twice.
After a failed attempt at running away, the police officer that brought him home left a lasting impression on the young boy. John saw something in this stranger that he never saw in his dad.
"That police officer actually seemed to care about me or take an interest in me," he remembers. "When he did, I wanted to be like him. I saw him as a hero. So that’s something I wanted to pursue. I wanted to pursue a career in law enforcement."
After college, John became an Indiana state trooper. Meanwhile, during this time, his dad was in and out of prison. His mom had become a Christian and reached out to her son.
John wasn’t interested in his mother’s faith. His main focus was his work as a state trooper, where his service was exemplary.
"I had received a lot of awards from the superintendent," John says. "I’d been assigned to the governor’s detail. It was like everything I did was to basically just credit myself, pat myself on the back."
But, after a heated dispute with a supervisor, the model officer found that the rebellion he had as a child was still there.
"Something kind of rose up inside of me, something I couldn’t quite understand and I couldn’t control. I resented those who were in authority over me that I worked for, and so I began to act out. Part of that was through alcohol and then I started using drugs. I became like a rogue cop, just kinda doing my own thing. People that I would stop on the highway, if they had drugs in their possession, instead of arresting them like I had done in the past, I would take their drugs. If they had their money, I would take that, and I would say, 'Hit the road.'”
John lost his badge and his respect for the law.
He was caught breaking into a store and was sentenced to 18 months behind bars. After his release, the lure of fast money was too great. One night, he cracked open the safe at a local business. Just as he was about to empty it out, the police showed up. John was sentenced to prison for eight years. He became a Christian in prison and was released after serving his sentence.
"I’m so grateful that God has always been there for me through the good and the bad," John said. "One thing I can honestly say is my best day without Jesus was never as good as my worst day with the Lord."
We must forsake our sin and unite with Jesus Christ. Only then does the sin in our lives. Today in prayer, confess any sin that is in your life and live in Jesus Christ.
"We live in a world full of people struggling to be, or at least to appear, strong in order not to be weak; and we follow a gospel which says that when I am weak, then I am strong. And this gospel is the only thing that brings healing." - N.T. Wright
God’s Word: “You, my brothers, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the sinful nature; rather, serve one another in love.” – Galatians 5:13
By Peter Kennedy, Copyright 2020, Devotional E-Mail
DEVOTIONS IN LETTERS OF JOHN