She
was a single mom with 3 jobs to support 6 kids, not all her own, but depending
on her. And they were living in an old rusty
van, homeless now because two of her jobs had suddenly ended. While she was walking down a tough street near
the railroad tracks, a man hollered from a front porch. “You need a house?” Just on a lark she took
the grand tour of a house with no hot water, no air conditioning, but
serviceable. “So how much rent?” He
shook his head, “The owner just wants to sell.
$9900.” Now where on earth would she get that kind of money? “Go talk to this guy,” the man handed her a
business card. “He’s at Big National
Bank.”
That is how she found herself being
ushered into a plush office 29 stories up.
The man smiled broadly and shook her hand. “I need a loan to buy a house,” she blurted,
not intending to be so forward. He nodded. “About ten thousand dollars.” He was already on a computer screen looking up
her credit. And the results made him
shake his head. “Umm, you have a credit
score of 450. That’s the worst. Any down
payment?” She dumped her last paycheck
on his desk. $83. A wry smile crossed his face. “Well,” he
cleared his throat, “if you had 40% down, maybe we could work with you. But your credit is disastrous. You’d have to have a perfect 840 to qualify
for a loan with no down.” “Could you bend the rules?” she asked hopefully. “No, if we did that, the risk calculations
would be skewed and the bank wouldn’t make money.” She sighed.
“And the bank examiners would notice it. You need to rent,” he declared. “Yeah, well, nobody will rent to us
either. I have so many kids. And right
now we are homeless.”
She got up to leave but he stopped
her. “There is perhaps one final possibility. If your 450 credit score could be exchanged with
someone having a perfect 840, the loan could be made. We would just swap your files. That person’s
history would be yours and your history would go to that person.” She startled.
It sounded preposterous. “Who
would do that?” she almost laughed.
“Me,” the banker said. “I would just become your credit score.” She was
stunned. “Really? I mean, your credit would be in shambles! You couldn’t buy
anything except with cash!” “Yes, that’s
correct.” Then she hesitated, “No, I won’t make you do this, sir. It would be awful for you!” He nodded in agreement. “And what if I typically miss a
payment?” He was ready for that
one. “Come and see me and we’ll make
arrangements. Call me even if things
don’t fall apart. Just stay in touch.”
“But people will think we are having an affair or something! The office will talk!” He sat down heavily and to her amazement
agreed. “Yes, I intend to take on all
your badness and you get my good. It is the only possible solution to the mess
you are in.”
The next few minutes were like a
whirl to her, signing papers and watching him exchange their files on his
computer. “But why would you do this? That’s what I don’t understand,” she finally
said. And at that point he got very,
very serious. “It is who I AM. My father ran this bank and he did the same
thing from time to time. I picked you
out, chose you, had that man find you and show the house.” She thought about it for a minute. “So he was—“ “Another person I helped just like you. Will I
be hearing from you?” “Oh, like every
day! And sir, if ever I can help, just call on me!”
And so it is that faith changes us
from inside out. Experiencing God’s undeserved kindness makes us want ot know
Him more. Realizing how much it cost our
True Friend makes us want to change. We
are justified (JUST IF I’d lived perfectly) before God. Our life is redirected to His Plan. The Holy Spirit works within to reprogram
us. And lest we ever forget, He has
sealed the contract with His Spirit, Blood, Word, and Baptism. You don’t sign
any papers. Just thank Him.
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