FROM YOUR PASTOR’S HEART September 12,2022
It was a heartbreaking weekend for this football fan. My college team lost by one point to the number one team in the nation. My NFL team didn’t come close to winning against the quarterback that most people consider to the be “the greatest of all time.” The only good football experience I had last week was tossing a ball with my grandson.
However, the word “lost” means different things to different people. While my teams lost a game last week, many people in our city lost a loved one. The senseless killing of five people in two murder incidents made national news, but it left the local citizens brokenhearted and looking for answers. We also have two CBC members who recently lost loved ones, a mother and a sister. Such feelings of loss hurt much deeper than watching your favorite team lose a game.
Yet, the saddest reality of being lost is the spiritual condition of those who do not know Jesus Christ as their Savior. And our city is full of people who are lost in this way. The greatest tragedy facing Memphis, and any other city you can name, is that there are people dying every day without Jesus in their hearts. These people are lost in the darkness of their own sin. They are headed to an eternity apart from God. What makes this truth even sadder is the fact that this is a decision they make for themselves. Jesus died on the cross and arose from the grave to make it possible for everyone who believes in Him to be saved. However, it is a choice we all must make for ourselves.
I would be angry to learn that my teams lost their games as a matter of choice. It is upsetting to know that people lost their lives last week because other people made a horrible choice to take their lives. Yet, what is more unthinkable is that people are lost in sin today because they have made a choice to go their own way instead of trusting in Christ Jesus. While I cannot change the outcome of the games or the murders that took place, I can make an effort to change the condition of those who are lost in sin by sharing the Good News of Jesus and bearing testimony to what He has done for me!
Serving in love,
Bro. Jim