My dear friend Webster says that saved means to "deliver from sin". I admit that I was a little surprised for the dictionary to take this fairly religious point of view on the word. The second definition was to "deliver from danger". I looked up the word rescue and found, "to free from confinement or danger, to save, to deliver". The differences may not be enough for one to normally comment on, but I believe I see a difference.
A few days ago my husband and I were talking about a situation that we have with our adult son. His marriage is ending, he has no dependable transportation, no job, no place to go, and of course no money to achieve any of these. These problems, and many, many more, are long-standing, and over the years his cries for help and then abuse of the helper have caused him to alienate family and friends alike. He has, as the saying goes, burned all of his bridges and has no one to go to, and he has no where to go. His closest family has explained to him time and again that his hope is not in what his family or friends do for him. His hope, and at this point, his only hope is in Jesus Christ who can and will turn his life around. Our son has stedfastly refused to take this step in his life, and consequently his life is unbearable for him. His last phone conversation with me was to say that he has nothing to live for, and he wants to end his life.
There have been circumstances in this man's life that have caused him to believe that the world owes him, that his family owes him, and he has lived this way for so long that he knows nothing else. How does someone watch two hardworking parents all of his growing up years become an adult believing just the opposite of what he saw? I can't answer this. I can only rely on what I believe. I believe in a Savior that can lift a lost man up from his grave of sin and despair and plant him on solid ground.
Today I am recognizing more and more a generation of adult children with this same mindset. They don't want to work, let alone work hard. They don't want to do a job that they consider not theirs to do. They want at age 25 what our generation didn't have until we were 50, and they want it given to them. This generation of which I speak has been pampered and spoiled with money and technology, and they have come away believing that they deserve it simply because they breathe. We forgot to teach them that all these things in their lives wouldn't make them happy. The things only cause them to want more. There is only One way to happiness, and they don't seem willing to sacrifice to have it.
Yes. I forgot to tell him because I didn't know Christ until my son was 15 and his brother was 17. I didn't know the Truth, so how could I teach it to them? But I cannot take the guilt upon myself when I have presented the Truth over and over to them. As adults, my sons have continued to hear the Truth, then walk away to continue their lives of sin and depravity. They have made their choices, and I am not responsible for their false thinking and bad decisions. But I am responsible for praying for their salvation and deliverance. My job as a "mommy" is over. But my job as a believer in Christ demands my diligence in prayer, and it demands my unfailing and unconditional love for my sons whom I love beyond measure. My greatest comfort is knowing that their Creator loves them infinitely, and because of that love He will pursue them for as long as it takes for them to recognize how much they need Him.
I am continuing to pray, and I am expecting great things from God for my sons.
No comments:
Post a Comment