Dear Disciple

My dear sister,

Am I still allowed to call you my sister?
Maybe not anymore.

Let me start over.






Dear Disciple,

How have you been?
I hope you're doing well.

Do you still remember the time we first met? It was in a Bible Study many years ago. I shared the gospel to you. That night, you accepted the Lord in your heart. You went to church the very next morning. That was the start of your journey of faith and our friendship.

It was a blessing seeing you grow. You would not only attend the services but join other church activities. Soon enough you became fully involved in the ministry. Your mother was thankful knowing that you're doing something meaningful with your life. You may not be highly educated but I saw a fire in you - an eagerness to learn and succeed.

I vowed to help you any way I can. At the time, I was earning way less off my profession than I expected, but someday I know I'll be able to help you pursue your dream. I know others will help too. I guided you the best way I can. Just continue serving God and He will direct you to your destiny.


But destiny was late for both of us.

I never got that dream project.

You were in and out of a job.

I can only encourage you and pray for you, even when life was tough on me too. There's light at the end of the tunnel. Dream more and trust God, I said. Serve Him more.


One day, you stopped serving in the ministry. One Sunday, you stopped attending. People would ask me about you and I didn't know how to answer them.

One Sunday became months you were absent. It's not possible for your job to hinder you because you don't work on Sundays. Something was wrong.


One afternoon, I invited you for tea. We talked about stuff. How has your life been lately? You seemed okay. I tried to get to the bottom of things. Why didn't you go to church anymore? Were you heartbroken? Did someone offend you? Did you have any problem? Were your parents forbidding you to go to church? What was the reason? You just smiled and slightly shrugged your shoulders.

Being inactive in the church is a normal phase for everyone. I know. I've been there.

So I casually invited you again. We prayed. You smiled and assured me you'll attend again. As expected, I saw you in the church the next Sunday morning.


After a while, you stopped attending.
You would be absent for many reasons:

You needed to do laundry on a Sunday.
We offered our washing machine to you to use on a weekday. You refused.

You were in a family gathering somewhere.
I understood it was important to you to be with family.

You had a really bad headache.
That has always been your health problem. I prayed for your healing.

You had to accompany your mother shopping.
Sunday might be her only day-off.

You woke up late.
You could have attended in the afternoon.

The next Sunday, it was your cousin who had to go shopping with you.
At this point I was so disappointed and angry at you.


I talked to you the same way I did when we had tea. If you can still remember, I told you the importance of putting God first.

Success is when you give Him more value than other things. All the things we have here on earth is temporary, but our relationship with Him is eternal. That is why our store is closed every Sunday no matter how high the sales can get. That is why we go to church. That is why we participate when we are needed in the ministry to serve God out of our gratefulness.


I think our talk didn't work.
Our example did not work.


Finally, I confronted you with a question.
"How would you feel if you will not eat for a month?"
To which you replied, "Hungry."
"Doesn't your spirit feel hungry? He hasn't eaten for more than a month."

In my mind, "Maybe your spirit is dead." I am no judge if a person truly accepted Christ, only the person knows what his/her status before God is. What if you did not truly accept Jesus in your heart? What if you only followed the words of the sinner's prayer just to get it over with? You had me so worried.


After our last chat, I decided not to bother you anymore, though I continue to pray for you.


The last time I saw you, you decided to go your way without even saying goodbye.
How convenient of you to dust me off like that after everything I have done for you.
Maybe I haven't done enough for you stay in the faith.


I thought I was of some value to you other than someone who just happened to refer you to a job.
Maybe I was just a resource person to you and not a friend.
Maybe you expected me to financially sponsor you because that is more important to you than spiritual growth.
For years, you were my sister, someone I'm supposed to teach and care for.
You hurt me because I was NOTHING to you.


I do hope God will bring you back to Him, take you back from the world you chose to love.
I don't know when that will be, what circumstance you will be in. Will it ever happen that I'll see you in the church again?


In my mind, I saw us attending the Sunday School together as old ladies.
I guess that will not happen.


Was my example not enough?
Were you offended of me?
I'm sorry.

Did you know I loved you?
To me, you weren't just a responsibility.
I did care for you, more than you know.


It's easy to be happy in the world, doing what you want and not caring about future consequences. It's easy to live a God-less life. Everybody's doing it!


When happiness ends, and life hits you hard, God will still be waiting for you, on that chair you used to sit on during Sundays. His Word will always be there in that Bible you never bothered to read. His presence will still be in Bible studies you do not attend anymore. His Spirit will still be in the hymns you do not enjoy singing.

When you finally decide to go back and honor God for His true worth, I will still be here.


The gospel stays the same.
If you still haven't entrusted your soul to Christ after all these years, it's not too late.
If I never see you again, at least I hope you get saved for real.


My prayers are with you always.


Sincerely,

your Discipler

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