This post was not written by me. It's written by a friend who would like to remain anonymous.
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While we were at the conference I got to witness one of the
most incredible acts of redemption first hand.
As a church we teamed up with another local church and one
of the kids from their youth group desperately needed a win in life. He had
been going through some major issues, and my guess is that outside of the youth
group kids he didn’t have a lot of friends. I think it’s very safe to assume
that in most settings he was a social outcast.
Well on Tuesday night the conference hosts what a talent
show where kids get to show case what they do best for three minutes. There
were some incredible acts. Between Taylor Swift-esque talent, humor, and poems
the talent of those kids was incredible. Then there was the boy. He signed up
to be a part of the talent show and, if
I’m honest, I thought, "Dude…don’t do that to yourself. All the eyes are
on you, you shouldn’t set yourself up for failure."
His talent was the Rubik’s cube. He was a master; no one
questioned that. The fact that he could complete the thing was impressive
enough, but he could do it with ease. For the talent show, he wanted to do it
blind folded.
I asked him, "How will you know how the colors line up?"
He said, “I just memorize the pattern."
I didn’t see how he could succeed.
He was the second act. The host messed up the
Rubik’s cube, and the boy sat off stage studying it, tapping it, and staring at
it.
It was his turn. He put the bag over his head, and then put
his hands behind his back.
"No way!" people shouted.
It would have easily been the most impressive act of the
night.
The audience watched in silence as his hands tapped and
twisted. The video camera zoomed in on
his hands as he worked on it.
Time counted down, and he failed. The host even gave him
extra time, yet he still failed. We tried to comfort him with our applause, but
you could see the defeat in his body language.
After the talent contest was over, we walked back to our
dorm together. I asked him, "How are you doing?"
He said, "Not good. I feel like that was my one chance
and I failed."
It was one of those moments in a kids life that could have
been a huge confidence boost to a kid who needed it. Yet he failed.
Fast forward to the last night of the conference. The
director was on stage at the beginning of the night and said, “I feel like we
need to set something right tonight. I feel like we were close to seeing
something amazing and just missed it. Is the Rubik’s cube kid here?”
He was.
“Do you have the Rubik’s cube with you?”
He did.
“Of course you do. Come on up here. We want to give you a
second chance.”
The director interviewed the boy and asked him what he
needed to make it happen. The boy said, "Compete silence." The
director and the audience obliged. But it got really awkward. The director
asked the boy if he was close; he wasn’t. It got really awkward on stage. So
the director transitioned to offering, and the boy just sat there studying the
Rubik’s cube. After offering, the director asked the boy if he needed more time.
He did, so the boy went next to the drums, center stage and sat cross-legged.
He tapped; he studied; he tried to memorize the Rubik’s cube. Meanwhile the
show must go on, and the director interviewed the main speaker for the night
while the boy sat cross-legged next to the drums behind them. Tapping. Studying.
The moment of truth came up. The boy stood, turned around,
put the blind fold over his head, and placed his hands behind his back. The
video camera zoomed in on his hands holding the Rubik’s cube. On the big screen
for everyone to see.
You could have heard a pin drop as we watched. 900 people
completely silent. Everyone pulling for this kid. And he nailed it! In forty seconds,
the boy completed the Rubik’s cube blind folded and behind his back. The
audience erupted. Standing ovation. Clapping. Cheering. Whistling. High fives.
We celebrated his success. We even gave him a slow clap. He became an instant
celebrity.
He got high fives on his way back to his seat. He was given
a second chance, and was redeemed.
That’s what the church is supposed to be as we work with
Christ to redeem those who desperately need second chances in life.
