Devotion for Wednesday, September 5, 2007

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The words of Christ in John 9:4 say--- “As long as it is day, we must do the works of him who sent me. Night is coming, when no one can work.” When I moved into the dorms of Ouachita Baptist University in the 80’s, I met Fletcher, Iris and Janna before classes even started. We all lived on the 2nd floor of Perrin Hall. Iris and I were roommates, Fletcher lived next door to us, and Janna was across the hall. The four of us have been friends for more than 20 years now, and the cool part is, that our kids are friends! Yesterday, I got an e-mail. The words in the subject of this e-mail were: “Paula Carpenter…I’m going to kill you.” No, I’m not being targeted by the mob and haven’t had a hit put out on me….I’ve just stirred up the wrath of my best friend. It seems that when I sent out the e-mail letting everyone know that Mike had been called as Pastor at Trinity…that I forgot to include Fletcher’s name in the recipient list on the e-mail. I’d also failed to mention to her the fact that my son had quit college and joined the Army. In my defense, this just happened last week, and since I’m still trying to sort it out in my heart, I haven’t shared it with many. The pastor call that happened the first part of June…well that’s a different story. I had mentioned something about both of these incidents to Janna this weekend, while replying to another e-mail. The only problem was…I guess I must have hit “Reply All”, because the return message went to more than a dozen people, including my “in the dark” friend, who lives in Ohio. Her response was immediate and swift, and I was in hot water with someone I love very much. I quickly sent an apology for not telling her, filled her in, and knew that because of our friendship, that she would forgive me. Events happen in our lives every day. Some we feel compelled to share with others, some we keep in our hearts for a time, and others remain secrets locked away for a lifetime. As family, friends, and acquaintances we have a choice each and every day in what we tell those around us and what we don’t. But as Christians, we have a responsibility to share Christ with those around us. What happens if I don’t? Imagine this scene in heaven: Someone I knew on earth has just heard the words “Depart from me….I don’t know you.” Her eyes look at me with fear, but it’s her words that strike fear in my heart…”Why didn’t you tell me?” See, unlike the conversation with my friend yesterday on earth, there can be no apology, because there is no excuse, and no second chance. There is no forgiveness for her….because it’s too late. All because I didn’t take the time, to make sure that my friend had heard about the Christ that I serve.