Goodbye Friend

I think the hardest thing in being a follower of Christ is watching people you care about and love begin to turn away from the Lord. To watch that fire begin to burn down. To watch good decisions be replaced with poor choices. As a youth minister, I feel pain as I run the list of students I’ve ministered to over in my head. Ones that I tried my best to show the love of Christ to but then watched them reject it. Students that came for a time, accepted Christ, and then disappeared never to be seen again. Even with students that I have now, I wonder deep inside if they are really trusting in Jesus for everything, or is he simply a part of the cultural heritage.

I think it hurts so much because I really do believe in heaven and hell. Last night at youth service I mentioned how the Lord will “wipe every tear from their eyes” (Revelation 21:4). Often we hear that there will be no tears in heaven, yet for at least a time there will be tears before they are forever wiped away. I have a feeling that a lot of the tears will be shed for those that we loved that chose not to make it; those that chose to walk away. To be in such a perfect place and to have the realization of what many people we cared about are experiencing. Heaven would be eternal weeping if Christ didn’t step and wipe the tears away.

Where does that leave us now? For me, I’ll keep loving and ministering through the good and the bad. Hopefully, some that I minister to will really grab hold of Christ and not let go. For others that I’ve ministered to down through the years, I have to trust that I’ve planted spiritual seeds that I hope will bear fruit later. And sadly, I have to realize that some will choose to live out Christ’s words in Matthew 7:13-14.

“Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.”