The Night I Met God @ AA

There is a lot of talk about heaven and hell right now and I guess that is a good thing at the start of Holy Week. Rob Bell is the topic of the cover article of this weeks Time magazine, he has a new book out exploring old ideas about heaven and hell that will get the Evangelical all hot and bothered. I agree with most of what Bell has written, it isn’t all that new but seldom discussed and certainly rarely preached by any pastor who wishes to keep his/her job. Within the Christian tradition there has always been the desire to keep God far off in a heaven beyond the stars. Unreachable, all knowing and seeing, a God who lives in a heaven with streets of gold and 24/7 worship, a place that, by the churches standards few of us will ever see. On the other hand, hell is that place under the earth where there is tormenting and gnashing of teeth and will be the everlasting home for those who do not “accept Jesus as their Lord and Savior” like Jews, Muslims, Democrats and pretty much everyone else. However, and don’t you just love howevers, I think Christian tradition is wrong. Heaven and hell are right here, right now. How do I know this, because God told me. Yep that is right, God, the Almighty, Powerful and everlasting God the Mother and Father of creation. God didn’t appear to me as a burning bush, didn’t engage me in a wrestling match on the banks of the Red River, God came to me, and spoke to me at an AA meeting the other night. Sandy and I were invited to an AA meeting where Max, a friend who attends Recovery Worship, was receiving his four year medallion. He was going to tell his story and wanted us to be there. Through Max, God told me about hell. Max grew up on an Indian reservation here in North Dakota. His mother was Native American his father was white. He talked about life and how he would regularly get beaten up by white kids because he was Indian, and beaten up by Indians because he was white. He talked about the hell of becoming an alcoholic while in high school and how his drinking cost him the possibility of playing basketball at UCLA. He told us about how his drinking kept him in constant trouble with the law and ruined his marriage and almost cost him his children. He then talked to us about his recovery and how AA has saved his life. As he was telling his story I noticed that his sixteen year old daughter Demi was there, and I could see how difficult this was for Max. After Max was done Demi went up front to present her Dad with his medallion. Then, suddenly God spoke to me through Demi and told me all about heaven. There were probably one-hundred people in that room and by the time she was done there was not a dry eye in the house. Through Demi God spoke words of love; love for a father who has changed in so many ways. Demi’s words describe a Dad who is now sober and who is now there for her when she needs him, who loves her unconditionally, who is a role model for her. Despite the inevitable divorce she told of how her dad has worked hard to keep the family united and functional. Demi talked about wanting to grow up to be just like him and how she wants to be the very best she can be because of him. Some people like to talk about the war between good and evil. Well, good wins, always does, always will. Evil will win its occasional battle but good will always win in the end (just read the end of Revelation!) In Max and Demi’s case, heaven wins! They are the miracle of recovery; they are what keeps me going when the burdens of ministry become heavy. Nothing fillls my heart with more promise for those struggling in the program then looking out on Sunday morning and seeing Max and his daughters Demi and Megan sitting in worship together, God is good! You want to learn about hell, you want to experience heaven; you want to meet God face to face? Go to an AA meeting or come and visit Recovery Worship.