“Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. Point out anything in me that offends You, and lead me along the path of everlasting life.” (Psalm 139:23-24 NLT)
The thought of being in heaven without my kids is unbearable. To see them walking without an intimate relationship with Jesus breaks my heart. Everyday as I have conversations with the Lord, their names pass through His holy ears. I know He loves them more than I do, but sometimes my patience is tried as I seek to trust that the Lord is working in their lives, drawing them to Himself.
In a recent conversation with my daughter, I was trying to convey to her my concern, when almost with a shout she said to me: “Why all the angst?” I’m not typically an anxious person, but knowing the fleeting nature of our lives, I just want to make sure I do all I can to help her see the Jesus I know and love.
Couple that with the daily tragedies that fill our world’s headlines that scream “You never know when you walk out that door if you’ll be returning. There are no guarantees!”
Though I’ve never met him in person, I love Ron Hutchcraft. I love his heart for those who are without a saving knowledge of Christ. Regarding how he responded to the horrors of 9-11-01, he conveyed in one of his recent devotionals: “And I prayed. I was groping for what to say and what to pray. And I found myself praying, ‘Lord, would You please help me see this through Your eyes? What are You seeing in this tragedy that’s just too big for our hearts to handle?’ And in the hours that followed, I believe He answered my prayer. And what I saw – beyond the unspeakable events that raked our souls – has stuck with me for over a decade. Every year, watching those deeply moving remembrances of the events at “Ground Zero,” the echoes reverberate again in my heart. ‘Make every day count with the people you love.’”
How can we “make every day count?” First, by allowing prayer to become the priority that it is. Remember, “prayer is the work, then God works,” and no one loves our children and loved ones more than Jesus. How do I know that? Because He voluntarily laid down His sinless life to pay the penalty for our sin debt. Not just our individual sins, but to give us grace, mercy, and guidance by His Spirit to tame and disarm our sin nature. Does that mean one day we’ll be perfect? Not in this life, but absolutely YES in the next life.
In this life we’re in a constant battle with the enemy of our soul, seeking victory, healing, and hope on every front. My friendship with Jesus, knowing He is with me and for me, and recognizing there are ways and means He has of reaching my loved ones that I can’t employ, gives me peace and confidence that one day my kids – and yours – will find their way home to Jesus.
When I was first saved, the Lord laid on my heart to pray for my parents. I grew up in an environment of constant uncertainty, never knowing if mom’s drinking was going to lead her to be nice or mean. My dad was very passive and seemed to tolerate it, but there was a part of me that wondered if one, or both of them would just one day walkout and never come back.
There was a man in my church named Les Moore. He worked with my dad, and every Sunday when I went to the altar to pray for my parents, he would come down from the choir and pray with me. It was a glorious day the morning my parents came to church with me and as the invitation was given, they both knelt to yield their lives to Jesus. They were baptized together and from that point forward I never wondered if they were going anywhere. I KNEW they were, and I look forward to joining them one day soon – in heaven.
Blessings, Ed 😊
Walking With Jesus 