Saturday was marked by the passing of another influential Christian leader and a true example of the life-changing grace of Jesus Christ, Chuck Colson.
Colson, who was 80 after he died three weeks after suffering a brain hemorrhage, was notable as the "hatchet man" for former President Nixon during the Watergate scandal during the early 1970s. In fact, CNN.com's story on him led with his being notable for that role (with all of the hate from readers following in the comments).
However, what is truly remarkable about the life of Chuck Colson is what he did after he served seven months in prison for his role in Watergate, as he described in his testimony that he presented at Columbia University in 2008. He became an advocate for prison reform and a leader in the evangelical movement in the United States during the last 35 years of his life. Christianity Today quoted Jonathan Aitken, who wrote a noted biography of Colson in 2005, as saying Colson was "America's best-known Christian leader after Billy Graham."
Colson is a great example of the life-changing power of Jesus Christ in a person's life. He was a man who admitted to not caring about faith, only about power, during the first half of his life and wound up paying a dear price for it by going to prison. However, through Christ, he changed his ways, and for the rest of his life, worked hard to change things for the better, whether it was helping prisoners through his organization, Prison Fellowship, encouraging Christians to become better volunteers in their communities, working to bridge the gap between evangelicals and Catholics, and advising former President George W. Bush on issues ranging from the war in Sudan to AIDS in Africa to human rights.
In short, that is the power of Christ, and like it did for the noted persecutor Apostle Paul in the Bible (see Acts 9:1-19) and Colson, it can change your life as well.
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