CHUCK COLSON GOES HOME TO BE WITH THE LORD: A dramatic conversion and an impactful life.by joelcrosenberg |
Charles
W. (Chuck) Colson went home to heaven this weekend at the age of
80 after complications from a brain hemmorhage. What joy for him that he
is now in the presence of his Savior for eternity, yet what a loss for
the cause of Christ here on earth. Colson was, of course, President
Nixon's lawyer, consigliere, and "hatchet man" during the Watergate crisis. He was convicted and went to prison
for the crimes he committed in the White House. But he was then was
dramatically converted -- "born again," as he famously put it, citing
John chapter 3 -- by his newfound faith in Jesus Christ as his
personal Savior and Lord. He was discipled by several older, wiser
Christian men who loved him and helped him develop a love for reading
the Word of God and for prayer and also helped him reorient his
worldview from a secular worldview to a distinctly Biblical perspective.
Not long after his salvation, Colson founded a ministry called Prison Fellowship
to serve some of the most unsavory and unlovable people in 100 countries
around the world with the transforming love of Christ. Through Colson's
ministry, thousands upon thousands of convicts have heard the gospel,
heard about God's amazing love and grace for the lost, turned their
lives over to Christ, had their lives completely transformed, and become
evangelists, disciple-makers, and game-changers all over the world.
What's more, many Christians have been moved to visit, love and serve
prisoners in obedience to Jesus' words in Matthew chapter 25.
Colson thus went from being a convict himself to becoming a remarkable
force in Christendom who lived a life of tremendous impact.
My interest
in politics and my love for Christ in high school led me to read --
actually, devour, with great fascination -- several of Colson's books,
including Born Again which describes the remarkable story of how he came to Christ (my favorite), and Kingdoms In Conflict
(which I believe is now out of print). I only met him once (during a
booksellers convention we were both speaking at), but was moved by his
story and inspired by his example. It was, therefore, a great but
wonderful surprise when I learned several years ago that Colson had read Epicenter, been intrigued by the conversions of millions of Muslims to Christ, and cited the book in one of his Breakpoint radio commentaries and newspaper columns called, "Why Muslims Convert: They Want Jesus Instead." The man loved great conversion stories, and loved to encourage believers to be used by the Lord to help convert others.
Please
pray for his family and team as they rejoice for him but mourn his
passing and miss his presence. Please also pray that the Lord would use
the media coverage of Colson's passing to share the gospel with many
people who need to experience the same forgiveness and healing that
Colson himself experienced when he met Jesus for himself in 1974.
I read two tributes to him this weekend that I commend to your attention and encourage you to share with others.
- Michael Gerson, "Colson found freedom in prison" (Washington Post)
- Jonathan Aitken, Remembering Charles Colson, a Man Transformed (Christianity Today)
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