Realizing

I think I'm starting to realize how really rare it is for people to actually finish this Christian race strong.

I've been watching those that grew in the faith with me, and those that I mentored get picked off, one by one by one. And I wonder, why is this?

Was their relationship just not built with lasting things; was it made with wrong reasons that wouldn't hold up against the persuasion of this world?

And I am not above it, but for the Grace of God, I am not one of them.

But it's true. Narrow is the gate and few find it.

But for the first time, I see and I understand, but it doesn't hurt me. There is nothing I can do for them but love them. I can teach them in the ways they should go: rebuke, correct, and love them. However, in the end I can't choose for them.

So my energy is not for them (although my prayers are). My energy is for the harvest. The people who have not even been given a chance to choice for themselves. They deserve my energy.

Yes, I mourn for my brothers and sisters who have taken a different path. Yes, I still love them and talk to them. But my energy is for those who have never known, not for those that know better, because they ALREADY know better. They know all that I know, yet they've chosen another path.

Maybe they just "did the right things" had a facade. Because they DID do the right things! The followed the rules, and played the game and it TRULY was NOT a game to them. It was real....but it still didn't last.

What's missing? Love?

I've seen that too. They will have an emotional experience and be so committed to the one they love...in that moment...while feelings last. An infatuation with Jesus.

But a Committed love. A truly sold out love, through pain. A deep understanding of what He did for us, and what it means. That changes things.