I’ve just finished reading The Creaking on the Stairs by Mez McConnell. It is subtitled “Finding Faith in God through Childhood Abuse.” I have to admit I was sickened and angered by his stepmother’s treatment of him (and his handicapped sister), and the lack of compassion , even laughter, displayed by the so-called adults she surrounded herself with. The book is about him coming to grips with a God of love, grace, and forgiveness. It is his journey from childhood abuse; to teenage bullying and rebellion; to a life of drugs and crime; to prison; to eventual salvation, fatherhood and being a pastor.
Lots stuck out to me…this being one of the sharpest:
Jesus came for victims. For the helpless. For the abused. For the lost. For the wayward. For those without a voice. For those who’ve faced injustice. For those who’ve known only pain and hurt. For the abuser. For the oppressor. For the violent. For the murderers. For the rapists. For the paedophiles. For those who have caused only pain and hurt.
For broken people like me.
For broken people like you.
For broken people like them.
(The above quote was taken from page 168)
It’s the you that got to me. Mez was including himself in the “me.” He was including me in the “you.” He is including us all.
We are all sinners before a holy God. I. AM. A. SINNER. BEFORE. A. HOLY. GOD.
You need the cross. I. NEED. THE. CROSS.
A truth that is hard to grasp… Hard to understand for many… How could God forgive that…
Yet He leaves no exceptions. God is a God of change, a God of Healing, a God of Forgiveness and Grace, no exceptions!
We all need the cross!
This sounds like another tough read emotionally, but would be worth it.
Blessings, Bill!
He is The All-inclusive God. Sometimes it’s hard for our heads to accept. Being in prison ministry, I see true transformations and I see me, who by ONLY by the Grace and Mercy of God, I’m on this side of the barbed wire. Thank You, Jesus!