Crying for the Lost

ByMarjie

The other day I was driving home from Wright Patterson Air Force Base, listening to the music on my IPOD when the most beautiful song came on.  It was talking about Heaven and after describing its beauty, the singer said, “Look for me, for I will be there too. When you first arrive, you’ll realize there’s so much there to view.  But when you’ve been there ten thousand years, a million, maybe two, look for me, for I will be there too.”

There will be no time in Heaven.  But if we could compare eternity with time on Earth, we would easily run into ten thousand years, a million years, two million years, and yet, there would be no end in sight.  Then it hit me – it will be no different for those in the flames of hell.  And I thought of my dad who passed away on February 5, 1998.  To the best of my knowledge, he died lost.  He’s only been in hell for fifteen years and it has to seem like an eternity to him already.  But to never see the end of his torment because there is no end to eternity must be horrific.

It’s too late for my dad, and there’s absolutely nothing I can do about it. But that didn’t stop me from crying over his fate.  That night when I went to bed, probably for the first time in my life, I cried over someone going to hell.  And I don’t want to see the rest of my family end up there.  They’re all still living, which means that I still have an opportunity to reach them for Christ.

I think as Christians, we often put “soul winning” on the back burner.  The devil works hard to keep us so busy with life that we don’t have time to think of the eternal afterlife…

  • Not ours:  Serving Christ here on Earth, eternal rewards and crowns, the Judgment Seat of Christ, eternity in Heaven…
  • Or that of a lost neighbor, coworker, or family member:  Separation from God in Hell, White Throne Judgment, eternal lake of fire…

We should never be too busy to reach out to the lost, even a stranger we meet in the restaurant, grocery store, or on door-to-door visitation.  Everyone we meet is someone’s precious loved one and they will all spend eternity somewhere.  The devil is working hard to blind the eyes of the lost so they can’t see their need for salvation.  That’s why so many people turn away from the Gospel before you even have an opportunity to present it.  They don’t see their need or recognize the imminent danger of separation from God in the eternal lake of fire.

But Psalm 126:6 says, “He that goeth forth and weepeth, bearing precious seed, shall doubtless come again with rejoicing, bringing his sheaves with him.”

I cried for my dad, but his eternity is sealed.  Maybe it’s time I cried before the Lord for the rest of my family and made every effort to give them the Gospel before it’s eternally too late for them as well. 

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