He Does Not Quit On The Quitters

   I don't know how He does it….

   In all my years working as a minister, either as a preacher, youth minister or something in-between, the thing I have hated most about my job are the ones that fall away.  The people you taught, feed and worked beside, that later you hear that are no longer faithful.  When you ask about them and the response is:

They aren't attending anywhere I know of, They left their spouse and ran off with someone else, They live now in some sin.  

   I hate looking back at the faces of all those I know knew the Truth, yet have somehow fallen in the error of the world.  It doesn't matter if I knew them for six minutes, six months or six years it hurts me.  But to be honest those I loved the most are always the hardest. Why? I know they believed! I know they cared! What happened? I know I taught them to watch out, there would be trying times. Why did they change? Why did they give up? What made them throw away their faith?

   Their lack of faith causes me to lose faith as well. It makes me think maybe this gig isn't worth it.  Why try if it is not going to do any good?  Maybe my effort is in vain.    It’s not worth the hurts!  It makes you not want to keep doing it, to try and care less, give less of yourself, just to avoid feeling that kind of pain.

   That’s why I can’t understand how He does it?  I only know a relative handful of  the unfaithful, had a loving relation with even less and still the hurt gets to me.  How is it for Jesus, who loves us all and has been forsaken by each of us?  Yes each of us, if only for a short time, have turned our back on him.  He knew from the outset that the majority of people wouldn't get and stay on the right path (Matthew 7:13-14).  Yet still he came taught, suffered and died.

   In 2^nd Timothy 2:11-13 we read:

“It is a trustworthy statement: For if we died with Him, we will also live with Him;  If we endure, we will also reign with Him; If we deny Him, He also will deny us; If we are faithless, He remains faithful, for He cannot deny Himself.

  In this little poetic phrase, Paul is telling us some very important.  We can trust in Him. He will remain faithful, even if we would quit. That doesn't mean we can go astray, no when we deny him, he will deny us.  But it won’t be because He gave up on us, it will be because we gave up on Him!  This weak preacher may give up on you but He won’t. If you willing to come back Jesus will be there ready to take you back.

   Why would we want to hurt one that loves us this much? If anyone deserves our devotion it would be him!