Just Walk Away?
I met some one who had just become a Christian a couple of years ago. She was really excited. Everything was new. She joined a church, got baptized, and started meeting with another lady in her church to learn more about the Bible and who God is. She came from a tough background and hadn't grown up around churches, but her home church welcomed her. People looked out for her welfare, helped her one they could, and on one occassion stood up to some guys that were harrasing her. Her church had become her family. Never in weird or repressive way, but in a really positive enriching way. It was family in a way that she hadn't had when she was growing up.
It all was great until she met a guy that really sparked her interest. Suddenly she had reasons to not be at church. In fact she had "moved in with a friend". When asked if she was having a pre-marital relationship with the guy, she blew up, and claimed that no one trusted her.
And that was it.
I haven't seen her since. There have been some terse letters, but this person has essentially vanished. I wonder if she has walked away from God as well? Or did she ever know Him deap in her heart? That question is a difficult one to answer, and since I'm not inside her head, I can't tell you what she's thinking.
I can tell you that I've known guys that lived criminal lives. When they came to Christ, the change was dramatic. Leave crime, come to Christ. Easy to see the changes there. Then I know people that were really really nice even when they weren't Christians. Even for them, when they came to Christ, I could see or sense a change. Their conversation, their atitude, sometimes it's just a vibe that you get from them.
I never got that from this woman. Looking back, it was too easy for her to walk away from her church family, and the deap supportive relationships that had built up around her. It was as if they were all place holders and there was no glue to keep things fixed together. Every relationship needs a bond to keep it from getting pulled apart.
If was too easy for her to dodge the questions. Too easy for her to cast the blame any where else but at her own feet. No need for repentance or forgiveness that way.
If you are a Christian, God's spirit is inside you guiding you. God's spirit helps you "see" or experience God in His beauty and desireableness as well as His Holiness, justice, love, etc. As a believer experiences this relationship with God, a hunger grows to know Him more. Duty (or ought to) is replaced by desire (or want to). In some Christians it's a process measured in inches and others grown in 10 mile bursts, but you can see the change, and the desire. Some one can fail over and over, but if I see true repentance, and a heart that yearns to know God, I see life. It's the person that walks away, shruggs off the concerns and says, "Hey, I'm o.k. what's the problem". That person makes me wonder if God was ever at work in their heart at all?
We don't ignore the things we desire. We never walk away from the things we really want.
What are your desires, and where are they taking you?
I'ld love to hear your comments. You can add them at the end of this post.
Adam
Sojourn
http://www.sojournband.com
Remember to vote for our song "Here With Me" on the Indieheaven radio charts at http://www.indieheaven.com/go.idh?section=radiochart
It all was great until she met a guy that really sparked her interest. Suddenly she had reasons to not be at church. In fact she had "moved in with a friend". When asked if she was having a pre-marital relationship with the guy, she blew up, and claimed that no one trusted her.
And that was it.
I haven't seen her since. There have been some terse letters, but this person has essentially vanished. I wonder if she has walked away from God as well? Or did she ever know Him deap in her heart? That question is a difficult one to answer, and since I'm not inside her head, I can't tell you what she's thinking.
I can tell you that I've known guys that lived criminal lives. When they came to Christ, the change was dramatic. Leave crime, come to Christ. Easy to see the changes there. Then I know people that were really really nice even when they weren't Christians. Even for them, when they came to Christ, I could see or sense a change. Their conversation, their atitude, sometimes it's just a vibe that you get from them.
I never got that from this woman. Looking back, it was too easy for her to walk away from her church family, and the deap supportive relationships that had built up around her. It was as if they were all place holders and there was no glue to keep things fixed together. Every relationship needs a bond to keep it from getting pulled apart.
If was too easy for her to dodge the questions. Too easy for her to cast the blame any where else but at her own feet. No need for repentance or forgiveness that way.
If you are a Christian, God's spirit is inside you guiding you. God's spirit helps you "see" or experience God in His beauty and desireableness as well as His Holiness, justice, love, etc. As a believer experiences this relationship with God, a hunger grows to know Him more. Duty (or ought to) is replaced by desire (or want to). In some Christians it's a process measured in inches and others grown in 10 mile bursts, but you can see the change, and the desire. Some one can fail over and over, but if I see true repentance, and a heart that yearns to know God, I see life. It's the person that walks away, shruggs off the concerns and says, "Hey, I'm o.k. what's the problem". That person makes me wonder if God was ever at work in their heart at all?
We don't ignore the things we desire. We never walk away from the things we really want.
What are your desires, and where are they taking you?
I'ld love to hear your comments. You can add them at the end of this post.
Adam
Sojourn
http://www.sojournband.com
Remember to vote for our song "Here With Me" on the Indieheaven radio charts at http://www.indieheaven.com/go.idh?section=radiochart
posted by Sojourn @ 6:12 AM
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