Extreme Makeover - A Christmas Eve Message...Continued from page 4

John A. Huffman, Jr.

But that's not the end of the story. He was subpoenaed to testify about his knowledge of the Watergate break-in and coverup. Now, as a new creature in Jesus Christ, having experienced God's extreme makeover, he had to be honest. Much to the shock of the investigators, he declared that he had known nothing in advance of the Watergate break-in and was in no way involved in the coverup. The instinctual reaction of those examining him was to see him as a person who was using religion as a way of getting out of trouble and then even denying the trouble he was in.

But, wait a moment! Much to their amazement, Colson stopped and declared that although he knew nothing about the Watergate matter, he had been engaged in criminal activities of which they had no idea. Under oath, he confessed ? owning up to what he had done wrong; that which God through Christ had already forgiven him, but for which, in human terms, he was responsible to the American people. For those self-confessed crimes, he went to jail.

At the time, I was a young pastor in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Having followed the Watergate saga closely, I was cynical about Chuck Colson. I had a prime-time television interview show on the NBC station, probing the ethical, personal and spiritual dimensions of life. When Chuck Colson came out of prison in the mid-seventies, I asked my producer if we could take a film crew to Washington to interview Colson. The station approved it, and I had one of the first television interviews with Chuck Colson, fresh out of jail.

I am embarrassed now to admit that I wasn't very kind to him in that interview. He was joined by his mentor, Senator Harold Hughes from Iowa, one of the brothers in his covenant group. After he told his story, I said, "Chuck, I'm not sure I believe you. In fact, I resent the way you have used the name of my Savior, Jesus Christ, to get the publicity you have gotten surrounding your experience in jail and now your release. How do I know you are telling the truth, that this not just some exploitation of Christianity?"

Colson looked at me and, with an unmerited graciousness toward me, said "John, I guess the only way I can answer that question ? both for you and for myself ? is to simply say, check me out and see what I am doing ten years from now."

You know the rest of the story. That was thirty years ago, and Chuck Colso

n today is a living witness to God's extreme makeover. Touched by the plight of men and women in prison, he established the Prison Fellowship Ministry. Withstanding the struggles that he had intellectually with the faith, he has written numerous books and articles and lectured widely on the issues of our day, pointing to the power of Jesus Christ to transform lives. We serve together on the board of Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary and often make reference to that interview and what God has done in his life in the intervening thirty years.