Many of us have an experience in our lives that significantly impacts us. It could be something big or something small, but it moves us in a way that delivers us back to Christ. For Jonathan Plummer, he encountered a major event many of us cannot fathom that changed his trajectory and showed him the true power Christ has.
How did Jonathan join the church?
- When missionaries came to his house in 1986, his mom wanted his sister to tell them she wasn’t home. His sister responded, “Mom, I thought you told us not to tell lies.”
- Because of that, his mom invited the missionaries inside. She had a notepad with questions no religious person had been able to answer. And, little by little, the missionaries resolved his mother’s concerns.
- Once her questions were answered, Jonathan wanted to join.
One major life event changed his life.
- Jonathan and his friends went out one night. Before work the following day, he checked in on his friend, Sean. He stopped by his home to find Sean wasn’t there.
- Jonathan walked to the sidewalk, only to find a police car with Sean in the back seat.
- The policemen then handcuffed Jonathan and put him in the backseat of the car.
Why were they arrested?
- After they got home from their night out, Sean realized his doors were locked. And because his incredibly strict step-dad had the keys, he decided to stay outside for the night.
- Sean decided to go to another party. But, on his way there, he stumbled across a crime scene.
- People had broken into a store and stolen merchandise, setting off the alarms. Soon the shop owner, residents, and police arrived, only to find Sean instead of the perpetrators.
Jonathan’s time in prison.
- He and Sean were questioned at the police station, but their matching stories made the officers split them apart.
- They moved Johnny to a cell with murderers and robbers, figuring Jonathan would be truthful once they beat him.
- Luckily, a man in the cell recognized Jonathan, and another knew his dad. Because of that, nobody messed with him.
- That night, Jonathan awoke around two o'clock in the morning and completely broke down.
- At this low point, he reached out to God, saying, “If you help me to get out of this situation, I will serve you for the rest of my life.”
Jonathan’s release from prison:
- The next morning, the prisoners decided to have a boxing match.
- As the new guy, they volunteered Jonathan to fight against a much larger guy.
- The man landed a hit right in Jonathan’s eye, and he saw stars. Enraged, Jonathan went in on him like Mike Tyson and took him out.
- About an hour later, the officers let Johnny go because they had no charges against him.
- On the other hand, Sean spent about two months in jail because he was at the crime scene.
What did Jonathan learn from this experience?
