By HAROLD KELLER

Four years ago, as I entered the Holiday Inn in Alexandria, I was greeted by a young man who asked if I remembered him. He reminded me that it was about two years ago since we met at a treatment center. He beamed as he told me that he had been drug-free since that time, married, had a son and was working steadily.

I have shared that story many times, stressing that the greatest miracle is a changed life. Nothing is more satisfying to me than meeting someone that I ministered to who has completely changed his or her life.

If that were the end of the story, it would be a successful experience. However, as Paul Harvey would say, let me tell you the rest of the story.

Last week, while speaking at a drug treatment center that I visit regularly, I met the same young man. Two years have passed since our meeting in Alexandria. I noticed that he had a walking cane next to his chair.

“Is that for show, or do you really need it?” I asked. He pulled up his pants over his right leg and showed me a large scar on his knee. “I got shot in a drug deal that went bad,” he said. He was embarrassed as he spoke and guilt had robbed him of the glow he had that day in Alexandria.

Trying to justify the fact that he was back on drugs, he added, “I did stay clean for four years!”

I have to admit that I was disappointed to see a young man that had enjoyed the good life and served God, go back to his old ways. I told him that if the person who shot him had aimed three feet higher and a few inches to the right, he would have been dead with a bullet through his heart.

“God must have spared you for something special,” I tried to encourage him. He responded in a positive manner to my remarks.

I told him, “For four years, you enjoyed the good life, pleasing God, and being a godly husband and father. You then decided to give in to the temptation of your drug friends. You’ve had the benefit of both worlds.”

I explained to him what the Bible says in 2 Peter 2:20-22. It states that after a person escapes the pollution of the world through the knowlege of Jesus and returns to his sinful life, it would have been better for that person not to have known the righteous way, because when he returns to his old lifestyle, it is always worse than before. In fact, it says that it’s like a dog that returns to his vomit, or a clean pig wallowing in the slop.

The challenge to you now is making a decision as to which you will serve – the God of your creation, or the evils of the world.

HAROLD KELLER writes this column as part of his affiliation with the Get High on Life religious motivational group. Call him at (985) 652-8477 or write to P.O. Drawer U, Reserve, LA 70084.