One day her husband of many years died, and on the clear, cold morning after his funeral, in the warmth of their bedroom, she was struck with the pain of realizing all the things that would be no more - no more hugs, no more special moments, no more phone calls, no more reminders when you didn't need them, not even any more occasional cranky remarks. Now she missed them - and him.
Sometimes what we care about the most - the love, the companionship, the ordinary, even the monotony - gets all used up and goes away, never to return. It can happen when we least expect it, and before we can say "good-bye", or "I love you" one more time.
So while we still have that relationship let's love him, care for her, try to fix what seems broken and heal what seems sick. This is true for marriage, parents, and children with bad report cards, friends, even old pets. We value them because they are worth it, and because we are worth it.
Some things we try to keep, like a best friend who moves away or a sister-in-law after the divorce. There are just some people that make us happy, no matter what. Life is important, like people we know who are special. So let's keep our loved ones close! In life, the good Lord gives us many people who are "keepers." Are one of those? Suppose one morning you don't wake up. Will anyone miss you, or will your friends know you loved them?
This is also true of our relationship with Jesus. Charles Templeton, a once powerful evangelist, lost his faith in Christ because he couldn't reconcile a "loving God when there was so much evil in the world." He admitted he fell from faith because he "could not believe Jesus was the only way to salvation." He did not dodge those who questioned him about his loss of faith, and tried to remain open to God. Just prior to his death he sadly admitted he "missed Jesus." He wished he could have kept the faith and what it gave him. But once he lost faith, he never got it back.
There are some precious relationships that do not last, that go away and leave us. Jesus does not have to be one of those. Christianity is not based on a relationship with a set of beliefs, but with a real person, Jesus Christ who lived, died and rose from the dead. God calls us to trust Him, not a holy book or a doctrinal formula. God calls us to a relationship of faith in a person who truly lived - and still lives, His only Son. When we trust Jesus, no matter how terrible the world or life may seem, He will give us what we need.
Jesus gives us back what we have lost, and it will be so much better than we remember it being.
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