The title above comes from a song by Casting Crowns. The song, ”Jesus, Friend of Sinners” has a powerful line that asks the God Almighty to “break our hearts for what breaks Yours.” That line has stuck with me. It hits me when I’m mowing the lawn, when I’m driving my car and so many other times as well.
Throughout high school I had the opportunity to share my life with some amazing people. The friends I kept were some of the best people I’ve known. We shared life together. Things like music festivals, Bible studies, retreats, Detroit Pistons games, missions trips, basketball at night by headlights and so many other things helped many of us become a tight knit group of friends and brothers and sisters in Christ.
This past year these friends have been on my heart. Some are still strong in their faith. Some have slowly and gradually distanced themselves from our Savior and some have intentionally turned their back on Him. I believe that God’s heart breaks for those of his children that have walked away from their faith. I don’t claim to know how God feels, but as a parent, to have one of my children intentionally walk away from a relationship with me would definitely break my heart.
As Moses was preparing the Israelites for the land God had promised them he warned them of returning to the rebellion of the previous generation. Many people of that generation walked away and didn’t trust God’s plan for them. But he also reminded them that if they do walk away, that our Heavenly Father will welcome them back if they purposely seek Him with all of their heart and soul because God is a merciful God. (Deuteronomy 4:29-31)
The Holy Spirit has placed upon me a heart for those who have strayed from their passionate faith from high school. Through the blessing of facebook, I’ve been able to start connecting with friends from that time in my life. Some are just wall posts here and there about life. There are also some friends that I’m starting to talk to on the phone and connect again at a deeper level. We’ve started to pray for those who have put their faith in things of this world that don’t last instead of our Savior. We pray for those incredible people that were once such an enormous part of our life. We pray for them by name. We pray that our Heavenly Father would bring someone into their life that would remind them of how awesome and loving our God is. We may not know who that could be, but He does.
“So he got up and went to his father. But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion for him; he ran to his son, threw his arms around him and kissed him.” – Luke 15:20
Is there a close friend or even a family member that has walked away from their relationship with Christ? You could start simply by praying for them and asking our Holy Father to bring someone into their life that could show them the path back to Him. Who knows…that person may be you!
Is this you? Maybe you haven’t blatantly turned your back on Christ. Maybe it’s been a slow drifting away from Him. Regardless, now is the time to turn away from the things of this world and towards the Giver of Life. Don’t put it off, 1 Thessalonians 5:2 states that “the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night.” Tomorrow is not guaranteed. You can trust that just as the father in Luke 15 welcomed his son home, our Heavenly Father will welcome home his children with arms wide open. He has promised us that in His Holy Word!
