Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already been made perfect, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.  -Philippians 3:12-14

          In the wake of the subprime lending*** storm, hundreds of thousands of people are watching their dreams die.  Many are watching their homes disappear, and others their reputations dwindle as the effects of the crisis sweep even innocent bystanders in its wake.  These losses often leave people feeling embarrassed or ashamed. 

     If he were alive today, the apostle Paul would likely have much to say about the crisis.  In fact, his might be the most relevant voice among the many weighing in.  Paul, never known for mincing words, wouldn't be shy about addressing predatory practices on the lending side, or personal responsibility on the borrowing side.

     He just wouldn't be doing it right now.

     Instead, I suspect we'd find him nursing wounds and holding hands, especially among the believers who might be experiencing this sense that they're "damaged goods ". 

     Before he met Jesus face to face, Paul was an ardent persecutor of Christians.  So ardent, in fact, that when Stephen was stoned to death, the Bible tells us it was Paul who held the coats of those doing the deed.  He went on to develop a frightening reputation as a persecutor of those first-century believers. 

     You don't have to be a poet to appreciate the irony when God picks Christianity's most fervent enemy to become its most powerful advocate.  As if the choice wasn't poetic enough, it was Jesus himself (forever known as a stoning-stopper with his rescue of the woman caught in adultery) who turned around the man who cheered the stoners.

     In that one majestic instant on the road to Damascus, Paul became an expert in "damaged goods."

     Think about it.  From that point on, many of the audiences Paul faced probably contained family members of people he had persecuted before his salvation.  Likely there were children without parents, parents without children, and wives without husbands, all because of him.

     How in the world could he face them?  And with such authority!

     We have a clue in his own words:  "But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus." 

     Instead, it's more likely he would be rallying the body of Christ to discover creative ways for to rescue as many of their fellow believers as possible.  He'd have words with the cluck-cluck congregants who, having escaped this particular storm, might be feeling smug enough to take potshots at those who didn't.  He'd also be looking for ways to reach out to the hurting, lenders and borrowers alike, Christian and non-Christian alike, with the encouraging hope of the great love of God: A love so amazing it rescues even its most ardent foe.  And when he came across the people who found themselves trapped by shame, he'd sit down beside them and tell them about a day when he held the coats of the men who killed a saint.

     We know these words aren't much comfort if your home is in foreclosure now, or if it's already been taken from you. It probably isn't likely any writer can pen a phrase that numbs that pain.  But there are people around you whose duty it is to sit with you and comfort you without smug looks or judgmental attitudes; whose commission from their King is to lift your arms when you can't lift them on your own. 

     Do not suffer in silence; do not go through this storm alone.  Let those of us who know Paul's story-because we've lived Paul's story ourselves-be with you even now.

--Randy Kilgore

rkkcak@aol.com