“DON’T YOU MISS HIM??”
I’m often saddened to hear or read something from people speaking up about their negative adventures while being part of a religious organization or Christian group, especially when their ultimate conclusion from their experiences is to reject God, Jesus, and/or the truth of the Bible.
I totally get how those negative experiences can affect one’s beliefs in that particular organization that they were formerly part of, and to question the validity of the teachings they followed…that happened to me, so I think I get where they’re coming from.
I basically rejected Jesus and Christianity, the whole kit and caboodle, when I was 16, because of experiences in the church that I was part of, and due to my observations and interactions with different church people — how they lived and practiced (or didn’t practice) their Christianity.
I have to agree that the greatest detriment to the cause of Christ tends to be those who say they’re following His teachings, but do things contrary to what Jesus taught.
Thankfully, I returned to faith in Jesus some years later, and since then I can say that I’ve had the honor and privilege of working with many talented people of all ages — adults, young people, and children — and most of those experiences have been positive, tho’ some certainly not without occasional challenges, and I also experienced odd or questionable interactions here and there.
But what I find hard to understand in all of this is how anyone could lose or let go of JESUS as a result of these negative experiences.
I get that they might be disappointed that God didn’t protect them from hurts in their lives, or that He seemed to fail by allowing hardships at times…
On that point, there are no promises in scripture that suggest bad things won’t happen to good people — on the contrary, He warned us that “in this world ye shall have tribulations,” i.e., trials and sorrows… (John 16:33)
The question I always have in my mind for those who no longer believe in Jesus: “Don’t you miss him?? Don’t you miss those intimate conversations? That feeling of never being alone, that you are accompanied, that someone is there helping you?”
Don’t you miss seeing all the little miracles, that supernatural help in time of need; and all the little prods and indications of what direction to go or which turn to take — whether to go right or left — when you’re trying to find your way… Don’t you miss those times and synergy with Him??
When mulling this over, the next question in the back of my mind is always: Did they ever have that closeness? In many cases, I know they must have, so I can only assume their rejection is due to their being hurt so badly sometime somewhere, and which they are blaming Jesus or God for, as I did for many years.
It brings to mind the account of Charles Templeton that I read about for the first time in Lee Strobel’s “The Case for Faith.” Woven throughout the chapters is the story of this man who was Billy Graham’s pulpit partner in their early days, and who had a promising future as an evangelist. From the onset, he actually seemed to be the more gifted of the two.
The book opens with what I think is a very moving conversation between Lee Strobel and Templeton about why he ended up abandoning belief in God and Christianity.
He lists his reasons for turning from faith to agnosticism and eventually atheism, presenting the questions and concerns he was facing. Sadly he didn’t find answers at that time that satisfied him, and so he walked away from Christianity.
The touching part of the story comes in the last interview Stobel did with Templeton near the end of his life, shortly before he passed on from illness.
When Lee asked Templeton what he thought about Jesus, he writes: “Templeton became relaxed, though morose, as if reflecting on memories of an old friend and said:
“He was the greatest human being who has ever lived. He was a moral genius. His ethical sense was unique. He was the intrinsically wisest person that I’ve ever encountered in my life or in my reading. His commitment was total and led to his own death, much to the detriment of the world.”
(Lee continues:) But there was more to be said.
Templeton’s heart was still heavy with emotion for this crucified man. Lee quietly commented: “You sound like you really care about him…” to which Templeton responded:
“Well, yes,” Templeton acknowledged, “He’s the most important thing in my life.” He stammered: “I . . . I . . . I adore him . . . Everything good I know, everything decent I know, everything pure I know, I learned from Jesus.”
“And as if his heart could bear it no longer, he bore his eyes to the ground and said, “I . . . miss . . . him!” With that tears flooded his eyes. He turned his head and looked downward, raising his left hand to shield his face from me. His shoulders bobbed as he wept. . . .”
That to me seems like the logical response from anyone who at some point has had a closeness to Jesus. I’ve often wanted to ask folks I knew and worked with in the past:
“Don’t you miss Him? Don’t you miss His involvement in your life, and experiencing that interaction on a daily basis?
And next would be,
“Did you ever stop to think that maybe He misses you, too?? — The closeness you shared together, the unique love relationship He enjoyed with you, His precious child and creation?”
I think of His days on Earth among humans at the beginning, when first walking with Adam and Eve in the Garden, Him probably explaining things to His children about this amazing newly created and creatured world, answering their questions and helping them understand all that they were seeing, teaching them like a father will naturally do with his children.
That same picture is repeated later in Jesus walking with His disciples — you can see in the Gospel stories how He loved being and interacting with them…
Both of these are beautiful pictures of God’s heart towards us and His joy of interacting with the beings He has created. Obviously, there’s a difference in that He may not ‘need’ us as we need Him — but don’t you think He misses us when we drift away?
The comforting thing is that at any moment we choose to, we can turn around
and go back to Him, and He’s right there, waiting to reconnect — or to connect for the first time as the case may be…
2000 years ago He said:
“I stand knocking at the door. If anyone listens to my voice and opens the door, I will go into his house, and dine with him, and he with me.”
That’s His heart in the matter…He wants that relationship with us…How about you?
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