"Through this situation, I found Jesus."

When I heard that Michael Vick was going to make a statement I had to hang around long enough to watch him. The attention he and this entire case have received over these past few weeks, heck, even months has been unbelievable. I am ready for it to go away so we can talk about college football and other positive things.

But as I watched Vick deliver his statement which lasted a little over 4 minutes, I was glad that he did not read from a script prepared by some high dollar public relations firm. He seemed contrite and sincere. I have to admit, though, when he made the statement that he found Jesus, I cringed a little bit. We hear about so many people who "find Jesus" in prison or maybe they go through some serious, near fatal tragedy and they "find Him." These days the media picks up on that and plays it up so that "finding Jesus" sounds hollow and lacks the power it should enjoy. I remember when precious little Paris Hilton came on the Larry King Live show after her "tumultuous" jail sentence and she said she "found Jesus." Larry asked her point blank what that meant to her and she could not articulate or describe her faith at all. "Finding Jesus"--It is a curious word play when you think about it.

Jesus really is not the one that is lost and in need of being found. The person who finds Him is always the one who is lost. Unfortunately, people have to come to the end of themselves, a place where they are confronted with their sin and their own inability to do anything about it before they realize Jesus is right there, waiting, wanting to make a difference in their life. For many people, life has to crumble down around them before they are in a place to "see" Him. He was there all the time waiting for them to acknowledge Him, but most are too caught up in there own worlds to be aware.

I am not judge or jury. I cannot know how sincere Michael Vick, or Paris Hilton, or anyone else for that matter, is in their faith. Time will tell. Will we see the fruit of a life filled with Christ pour forth from a "Jesus Finder?" I pray we will. Above all, I rejoice in serving a risen Saviour who is always present in the dark valleys of life, in the jails, and in the muck and mire waiting to be "found."