MyFriendlyThoughts3

NEW DIRECTIONS

I read a true story recently that captured my attention. It is about a man named Richard Coss. His story is really amazing.

By the age of 25, Richard had spent more than 15 years in prison or adolescent centers. He never gave a thought about going straight, so he accepted the idea that prison would always be his second home, if not his first.

As a career inmate, he worked hard to earn the respect-and fear-of the other prisoners. He was in more than his share of jail yard fights, and he could take any punishment the guards dished out.

But one day, Richard did something totally unexpect-

ed. He listened to a minister who had come to preach at the prison.

To his surprise, what the minister said made sense

and it wasn't long before Richard gave his life to Christ. Overnight he experienced a radical transformation.

Richard was telling his stoty to a pastor named Stephen May, and this is what Stephen recounted about that meeting.

When he was telling me his story, I interrupted him at this point (about his radical transformation) to ask.

"How did the other prisoners treat you when you

gave your life to Christ? Did they lose respect

for you?"

I asked the question because I knew that it was tough to be a Christian in high school. I couldn't imagine what it would be like in prison. I wondered how hardened criminals would treat someone who refused to fight back. Richard's answer surprised me. He said,

"My fellow inmates respected me even more after I gave my life to Christ. They respected me because I walked the talk."

Then he said, "After awhile, when they saw I really meant business, they began to listen to what I had to say. Eventually I was able to win many of them to Christ."

Richard Coss is one of those people who has made a tremendous difference in the world. Hundreds of men left a life of crime to become followers of Jesus Christ-- and productive members of society--due to the influence of Richard Coss, a one time career criminal truly made a difference.

You see, Richard successfully lived a transparent life, of which all of us are called to live.

It was the early church who made a diference in its world. In just a few years, those followers of Christ turned their world upside down. People were drawn to their message.

Why? Because like Richard Coss, They were commit-

ed to walking the talk. Their lives had gone a new direction.