Share It While You Can

Just a note of update; I have had a death in the family with another very imminent in the same immediate family! I will be leaving to journey back to the part of the state I called home in my growing years to be with family. I plan to take a few days and spend time seeing those relatives I rarely get to see; those up in years that have been players in the play of my life… all of my life. I want to make a point of saying face-to-face that I love them while they are still around to hear the words.

I lost my mother sixteen years ago; my father thirty+ years ago. I became an orphan at the age of 40! I have had many important events in my life that I was not able to share with my parents. It is difficult, though a part of the circle of life, to lose a loved one. I hope to be a support to those family members that need comfort. Sadly, I know not all my family share my faith so they do not share the hope of seeing their family members again. That makes me incredibly sad. I can not say I even know the where these elderly relatives stood spiritually; whether they were saved or not. Those important issues were not a part of any discussion we ever had. This, too, makes me sad. I feel opportunities were missed.

I guess if there is a point to this note it is to say we should take the time to tell those we love that they are important to us. We can not assume they know. Just being relatives, fruit hanging on the same family tree, isn’t enough. People know their value in our lives by the investment we make in our relationships with them.

The same is true regarding opportunities to speak of Jesus. Jesus could not do miracles in his home town because the local people saw his as just Joseph’s boy. Apparently that didn’t carry much weight with them. It can be the same in our families. They’ve known us since birth, know our childish ways and habits and need to “see” the new us in Christ. Jesus tells us to go forth and tell everyone about the gospel and salvation. This includes talking to our own extended family. From experience I can tell you it is far easier to tell a stranger about Jesus than to have that talk with a family member. That does not mean we shouldn‘t do it. I want to know they know……and yet, as I write this I am filled with regret for opportunities lost.

I will be gone for a few days so I can attend to the family business of saying goodbye to some of our own. I pray the Lord will provide me with the courage, boldness and opportunities to share my Jesus with family while I am with them. Meet you back right here when I return. Till then, be blessed and share Jesus!