One of
blessed side notes that we face in ministry is in regard to the fact that
we often find that the dawning of each new day often presents us with new and
interesting challenges. There are days
that will challenge our minds some will challenge our hearts and then there are
those who challenge both causing us to learn first hand lessons from the Lord
in the area of compassion. It was on one
such day that I walked into a small bedroom in the back of a modest suburban
home. I took the moment and paused in
the doorway, I stood there for a moment to observe the scene that was playing
out in front of me. This moment taken to
pause upon entry allows me the opportunity to quickly scan the room and to
observe every individual in the room. I
do this so that I can could prepare myself to minister and to pray for all that
were present in the room.
Once the
initial assessment of the room was taken I directed my focus to the bed and the
patient who was lying in it. There
before me was an elderly lady, she was laying on her back, her gaze was fixed
forward on the ceiling as if waiting or looking to see someone make an
appearance form the ceiling above her. This
dear lady lay there laboring, each breath was a struggle to her, every
exhalation seemed to provide minimal relief to her. Her head would arc back with each breath, providing
a vivid illustration to everyone in the room that each breath that she took was
as painful to her as they were necessary.
Over to the right of the bed I could see her husband as he sat in his
wheelchair. It was nestled tightly up
against her bedside allowing him the best access to her that could be allowed
in his frail state. He vigilantly sat
there holding her right hand in his own and gently stroking her hand with the
other. As I took a couple more steps
into the room I noticed that he finally saw me out of the corner of his eye. Without turning his gaze from the woman in
the bed he said to me, “She is the love of my life.” Then he immediately began to weep. Once he composed himself, I took the
opportunity to ask him how long they had been married and without missing a
beat, but with a noticeable quiver in his voice, he said 70 years. I probed a little further and asked how long
they dated before they were married, and he said three years. This couple had known and loved each other
for over 73 years. They had experienced life together, they were
and are the love of their lives.
He continued to stroke the hand of his wife, stopping
occasionally to affectionately pat it as one who had found a great treasure. When he talked, he looked neither to the left
or the right as his gaze continued to be transfixed on his wife’s face not
wanting to miss a chance of her opening her eyes. As he did so, I was reminded of the passage in
Proverbs which says, “Whoso findeth a wife findeth a good thing,
and obtaineth favour of the LORD.” Proverbs 18:22. Or like Jesus mentioned in Matthew 13:44, “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like unto treasure hid in a field; the
which when a man hath found, he hideth, and for joy thereof goeth and selleth
all that he hath, and buyeth that field.” He had found as prize and he
was not letting go nor was he going to look away as if she might disappear if
he looked away.
As I
stood there I came to the realization that the Lord Jesus in all of his
greatness looks upon us in much the very same way even when SIN has overtaken
us, and we are firmly caught in its grasp.
When the effects of SIN have placed us on our death bed in life. Jesus is never going to leave our side,
especially in our weakness He is there desiring only to be with us. We find this to be true in several passages,
such as Deuteronomy 4:31, “(For
the Lord thy God is a merciful God;) he will not forsake thee, neither destroy
thee, nor forget the covenant of thy fathers which he sware unto them.” Also See Deuteronomy
31:8; Psalm 9:10; and Hebrews 13:5
which says, “Let your conversation be without covetousness; and be content with
such things as ye have: for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake
thee.” He has promised us that
He is never forsaking our side even when we are on the deathbed of SIN He is
there holding our hand, looking at us with the same longing that this man did
for his bride. It was more than a look
of kindness, it was more than a look of longing, it was one of tender,
compassionate desire as if saying I would much rather switch places with you, if
possible, I would even walk that last mile in your place. The difference here is that the Look on the
Lord’s face is greater than of kindness, it is more than a look of desire, it
was one of tender and overwhelming compassionate desire. He is saying, I have walked this path before
and I will be walking it with you today and if need be, I will carry you the
rest of the way. You need not fear that
long last mile I am here by your side, always and for forever.
It doesn’t matter what stage of life that you are in or where
you are in your walk with men, but it always matters where you are with and in
your walk with Christ. You must learn to
treat every encounter with the thought that you may be the first, last or only
gospel that they may see or read. This
truth is found in the Scriptures 2
Corinthians 3:1-3, “Do we begin again to commend ourselves? or
need we, as some others, epistles of commendation to you, or letters of
commendation from you? (2) Ye are our epistle written in our hearts,
known and read of all men: (3) Forasmuch as ye are manifestly declared to be
the epistle of Christ ministered by us, written not with ink, but with the
Spirit of the living God; not in tables of stone, but in fleshy tables of the
heart.”. Our walk and talk
should always be examples to our family as an ambassador to Christ. We can never take it for granted that our
family will come to Christ, so we must do our best to present Him to them in
all that we do. If we do so then we will
be far more likely to point them to Christ, we will also have opportunities to
present them with examples of God the Father.
If Jesus is the love of your life you will do all that you can to bring
others to Him as that is what pleases Him.
