A Waste...

I woke up around 6 this morning to find fog outside. And hours later I was looking out the window to still see patches of fog and air that looked misty, with the sun's rising beams beneath the roofs of houses across the street. And for some reason, I've loved that this morning. Its made me smile.

I know my last blog was not so short and not so sweet; but those words shared about places I have been in. Anyone who read and commented, read, or is yet to do either of those... I thank you for reading and sharing your thoughts about the places I've been in and my honesty.

In the midst of these things this morning I decided that I'm really going to get back to blogging. Believe it or not, I've missed writing here frequently and reading what other people think of the things that I've shared. The past few weeks I've been wanting to write but it just hasn't been flowing, friends.... but alas, I'm writing today and with one thing in mind...

I don't know if you have ever heard someone say something or do something that doesn't seem to leave your mind or heart, even days after the words were said... but, this occasion seemed to bump into me Sunday night.

I shared with you in my last blog that I was with a few people who were sharing what has been on our hearts and about delighting in God - and how our words were just filled with honesty when sharing with one another. When we circled and prayed together we decided to go out to eat afterwards.

We were all sitting eating the food that we had just ordered when a young man in suite and tie suddenly comes up to my seat and leans next to me asking "Are you saved?" I looked at him and said "yes" expecting that he'd notice the confidence in my answer and walk away. But he didn't. He said back to me "are you sure?" After the few shocking seconds of realizing that he had asked me again I answered "yes, I'm positive." And he walked away placing a tiny piece of paper on the table in front of me reading words that I can't remember, but things about abortion and supporting and loving the unborn.

After walking away from our table this young man (whom I soon found that he knew some of the people I was with that night, and that this young mans' name was Jason) approached an older man sitting at the table diagonal from us, with the newspaper held above his face and his eyes scanning every word. Jason walked up to him and asked "Do you know Jesus? Are you saved." The older man wasn't distracted at all by Jason or his words - moments after Jason asked this question his eyes were still scanning every word. (by this time if Jason had looked over at my table he would've known that I was hooked and listening to every word that would be spoken by the two of them.) Jason leaned in closer to the man and asked "Do you go to Church regularly?" And the older man folded down his paper (by this time he was filled irritation) and said "I don't think that's any of your bussiness" and he stormed out of the resturaunt with his coffee and paper in hand, leaving Jason standing there.

After walking away from the table and doing 'this and that' Jason made his way back to our table. He stood there for a moment at the end of the table, where I was sitting; and he suddenly said "Did you hear that guy?" I/we shook our heads yes... and Jason said "He can just go to Hell! He's a jerk!" At the end of that sentence I quickly looked towards Jason, who was right beside me, and said in brokenness "Man, what? What in the world did you just say?" And at that moment he shrugged his shoulders saying "well?" and walked away.

I have never been filled with such anger and brokenness at the same time. My face was hot, my throat was dry, and my heart was breaking. Those words were repeating over and over again - and this had only been nearly a minute after Jason had walked away. I looked around the table at the 10 dear friends of mine sitting with me that had just heard what this man had said. I said to them: "How in the world can he say that? What if we all treated the lost that way!?" And one said back to me "Teresa I think he was joking." I'm sorry... but that is the least funniest joke that I have ever heard....

During the rest of our time there I was fighting back tears and repeatedly saying/asking "how in the world could he say that?"

I went home that night and ran into my room, locked the door, paced around my room praying with tears streaming down my face. I think I came to the point where my prayer wasn't a whisper or an average volumed voice... I was broken and angry before God. I paced around the room constantly saying to and asking God countless words and questions about what had just filled an hour of my life.

These thoughts are still running through my mind and tearing at my heart.

Seriously friends, what if we ALL treated the lost that way? I do not understand how this young man walked up this older man with one thing in my mind: telling him about Jesus; and walked away thinking: he can go to Hell. Friends, we have a short time to walk to people with the intention that Jason first had... I have no idea how I will react if I find that we'd ALL walk away with the thoughts that Jason had while leaving this man.

What a waste of our lives. What a wasted life.

It has made me sick friends. If we are the Church, then lets act like it. The moment we take the words "he can just go to Hell" lightly, that is the moment that the lost just become another "group" of people in our minds, that is when anger fills our hearts and minds rather then love towards them. That is when telling them about Jesus is maybe, just maybe on our Top 10 list.

Seriously friends, have we really forgotten what the Church has always been about? Christ crucified, Him saving the lost and calling us to Him and to die to ourselves, and to show others Who He is. If Jason showed me a clear picture of how the Church is being represented or portrayed today - then Church, we need to wake up and truly be the Church - the followers of the one and only God.

It's funny the more I think about it - I don't ever remember reading the Bible and seeing that Jesus was complacent about people and them going to Hell. He never hinted at "you can just go to Hell." His voice was never aloof, He never wanted someone to go to Hell because they didn't respond the way He wished they had; He never wished for that. Friends, why would we condemn (with our words) someone to the Place we had just tried turning them (with God's work in our lives - we could never do that alone - we aren't God) away from?

Those are all the words I can seem to find right now. This is heavy on my heart and circling over and over again in my mind...

Good night friends...
SEEK Jesus and BE His!