“WE LOST HIM.”
Words like that from a doctor in a hospital waiting room can be devastating. Images of the heart monitor going to flat line.
As a pastor I have been with many people when their loved one has passed away. It is always a gut wrenching experience. I held one newborn in my arms. It was born with no real brain, just a brain stem that really wasn’t running its heart or lungs very well, the machine was doing that. The parents had made the inevitable decision to pull the plug and they wanted me there. They couldn’t hold the baby they wanted me to. Such soft, warm, sweet innocents, helpless. We prayed to God for a miracle, it didn’t come. God said no. They turned off the life support machine. As the life ebb out of the little baby, its face turning gray and breathing stopped, tears came to everyone’s eyes, even the nurses. ”We lost him.”
When my mom passed away near Christmas a few years ago. There was that one last gasp of breath, closed eyes, breathing ceased, the nurse said, “we lost her”. It was such a heart breaking experience of hopelessness, no words can describe it. If you have gone through this you have felt what I felt.
The church today in this post modern society seems to be failing. There are mega churches that look like successes by the standards of the world. We build nice buildings with beautiful stained glass windows and plush carpet. Our flesh and pride swell up and we think we are “doing real good at God’s work.” The devil whispers into our mind and says, “those kind of people don’t belong in a building like this,” and we frown, turn away and ignore them.
I asked someone the other day what Jesus said to them when they prayed about a certain situation. They just looked at me like I had just gotten out of the looney bin. I was talking with others about Jesus being near us in the room with us, and one person said maybe we should call the psych ward for me. These were good, strong, Christians. Attend Church every time the door is open.
We sing, pray, preach, and do “church” very well most of the time. But where is Jesus? I know he is there, but do we really experience HIM.
“We have lost HIM.” Our hearts have stopped beating with excitement when we pray. He no longer takes our breath away. We don’t even think about him much. As far as our experience of his presense in our life he might as well be dead.
Somehow we must come alive with the awareness that he is here with us right now.
Intellectuals will say, “oh no, he is at the right hand of the father.” Optimists will say, “oh no, he is in my heart.” HE said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you”. ”I will manifest myself to you.” Those are His promises. Jesus hasn’t moved off, he is not dead, he is not lost. He forever runs after us with a craving for you to be aware that He is there with you right now. Together with you. For you to be aware, to have that passion and powerful sense that he is right there next to you right now.
Let him hold you through your crisis. Let him hug you and wipe away the tears. Let him put his big arms around you and listen to him as he says, “I right here with you.”
Wow! Immanuel. God with us.
