The following....somewhat rewritten....was first posted in May of 2019. I haven't seen the friend who I write about in the post since I retired but I treasure....literally treasure such memories....and the getting to know new people....and hearing their stories and sometimes their dreams. I'm reminded at times like this of the popular song from the early 50s.....They Can't Take That Away From Me....recorded by many singers but the one in my memory was from Pat Boone.
It was about five or six years ago....and I was working for an entire week with one man....for the first time....in a quiet spot....so we could talk while we worked. This man was funny....interesting.....(a rugby player)....and very outgoing....so I was free to open up a little also. He talked a lot about his father....and I enjoyed every minute of it.....then somehow.....God became the topic of the conversation.....funny how that happens to me so much. Anyway I had to find a way to say some serious things....by trying to slide them in sideways. I'm usually pretty good at this.....but this guy was smart....he knew what I was doing....even though I wasn't even sure what I was doing.....and he looked at me and said....."So you're saying that my father is in hell?" His father was not even mentioned....hell was not mentioned....everyone knows that you can't talk about hell today. I admit that I did want him to face.....sometime in the future......not exactly right then....that his loving and wonderful father must be born again just like all of us. There was a pause....I didn't try to get out of it....but I don't think that I pursued it any further either....the thought was planted in his head....and that's what I wanted.
This is a tough issue folks. Thinking about a loving parent who had died....without Christ....that's too much to ask of many of us. We'll change the gospel before we admit to that.
I loved my father. He passed away in November of 1979....and is buried in Arlington National Cemetery. I was lost in my sins at the time and therefore utterly useless to him in the matters of his eternal soul. I do not know my father's thoughts or the people he may have talked to before he succumbed to the disease that took his life.....but I do know this....Jesus Christ is the way.....and He is the truth.....and He is the life.....and no one comes to the Father except through Him....and one must be born....again....born from above....whether they realize it as such or not.
Discipleship comes with a cost. The least of this cost is that you may become a persona non grata on occasion....it may even be forever....this because you mention Jesus Christ so often....but letting your loved ones alone....and headed to hell.....without even trying....is an odd love....a love that must be investigated.....to see if it really qualifies as love.
Consider this....a dream maybe....you are lost and without Christ.....hanging by a rope over 'you know where'.....that rope begins to unravel....a Christian passes by.....you know him.....you always gave him the impression that you were a Christian even though you didn't even have the slightest idea what that really was....so in your need you shout out...."Friend....tell me about the Gospel of Jesus Christ!" He sees you.....waves.....and walks on by. You look up and the rope continues to unravel...."What must I do to be saved" you shout again....but no one responds.... they just smile and wave back....they assume that you are fine....the rope then breaks and you fall......it gets colder and colder.....the evil all around you makes your skin crawl.......you shout......"Nooooo!".....and then you wake up.
So the next time that you think about loved ones....and know that they are holding on to an unraveling rope also....remember this dream. Love at times comes with a great cost.....are you willing to pay it?
It was about five or six years ago....and I was working for an entire week with one man....for the first time....in a quiet spot....so we could talk while we worked. This man was funny....interesting.....(a rugby player)....and very outgoing....so I was free to open up a little also. He talked a lot about his father....and I enjoyed every minute of it.....then somehow.....God became the topic of the conversation.....funny how that happens to me so much. Anyway I had to find a way to say some serious things....by trying to slide them in sideways. I'm usually pretty good at this.....but this guy was smart....he knew what I was doing....even though I wasn't even sure what I was doing.....and he looked at me and said....."So you're saying that my father is in hell?" His father was not even mentioned....hell was not mentioned....everyone knows that you can't talk about hell today. I admit that I did want him to face.....sometime in the future......not exactly right then....that his loving and wonderful father must be born again just like all of us. There was a pause....I didn't try to get out of it....but I don't think that I pursued it any further either....the thought was planted in his head....and that's what I wanted.
This is a tough issue folks. Thinking about a loving parent who had died....without Christ....that's too much to ask of many of us. We'll change the gospel before we admit to that.
I loved my father. He passed away in November of 1979....and is buried in Arlington National Cemetery. I was lost in my sins at the time and therefore utterly useless to him in the matters of his eternal soul. I do not know my father's thoughts or the people he may have talked to before he succumbed to the disease that took his life.....but I do know this....Jesus Christ is the way.....and He is the truth.....and He is the life.....and no one comes to the Father except through Him....and one must be born....again....born from above....whether they realize it as such or not.
Discipleship comes with a cost. The least of this cost is that you may become a persona non grata on occasion....it may even be forever....this because you mention Jesus Christ so often....but letting your loved ones alone....and headed to hell.....without even trying....is an odd love....a love that must be investigated.....to see if it really qualifies as love.
Consider this....a dream maybe....you are lost and without Christ.....hanging by a rope over 'you know where'.....that rope begins to unravel....a Christian passes by.....you know him.....you always gave him the impression that you were a Christian even though you didn't even have the slightest idea what that really was....so in your need you shout out...."Friend....tell me about the Gospel of Jesus Christ!" He sees you.....waves.....and walks on by. You look up and the rope continues to unravel...."What must I do to be saved" you shout again....but no one responds.... they just smile and wave back....they assume that you are fine....the rope then breaks and you fall......it gets colder and colder.....the evil all around you makes your skin crawl.......you shout......"Nooooo!".....and then you wake up.
So the next time that you think about loved ones....and know that they are holding on to an unraveling rope also....remember this dream. Love at times comes with a great cost.....are you willing to pay it?
