Ron Hutchcraft Ministries - Missing You - #6461

Monday, October 17, 2011

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We say a lot of things we don't really mean. For example, when we sign our letters, sincerely yours—now have you really been sincere about everything you said sincerely yours about? Or how about this one, the check is in the mail—well, sometimes yes, sometimes no; maybe just an intention. Here's a classic one that we often don't really mean, "Hey, let's get together sometime; we'll give you a call." How many times have you been told that, and then how many times did it really happen?

Often we'll say it and perhaps we even mean it at the time, but you know you get busy an hour later and you forget that you said that. "Hey, let's get together sometime." Well, it never happens. But you know there's someone who really means it when He says it. Well, you can tell by the tears in His eyes.

I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Missing You."

Our word for today from the Word of God is in Matthew 23:37 . The scene, we are told in the Gospels, is that Jesus was sitting on the Mount of Olives which overlooks the city of Jerusalem. He says, "You who killed the prophets and stoned those sent to you, how often I have longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing."

Now that's Matthew's account; Luke tells us that Jesus wept when he said that. That's only one of two times recorded in the Gospels where Jesus wept. One was at the tomb of Lazarus; the other was when he said this about the people that he loved in the city of Jerusalem. He says, "Oh how I wanted to be together with you. Let's get together sometime." He said it over and over again, but they never were willing. You say, "Well those terrible people in Jerusalem. How could they stand Him up like that; He wanted to be together with them, and they weren't willing? Well we need to look in the mirror for a minute because maybe that's us too.

It's interesting that when Jesus said, "Behold I stand at the door and knock, if anyone hears My voice and opens the door I will come in and supp with him and He with Me" (Revelation 3:20 ). He was speaking to the church when He said that. He said, "I want to be with My people; I want to be with the believers, but I can't get in." I wonder how many mornings He's wanted to be with you, but you were too busy; and He said, "Oh how I've longed to be with you, but you were not willing."

In a little booklet called "My Heart—Christ's Home," it pictures opening up your life to Christ as being like opening up the rooms of your house, and the man in the story meets Jesus in his study every morning until he gets too busy. And he just misses a day because he's on his way out to a busy schedule, and then another day, and pretty soon he hasn't been in there for a month. And one day he runs in there on his way out—he's grabbing his briefcase—he sees Jesus sitting there and he says, "Jesus, what are you doing here?" And Jesus very gently says to him, "Oh I've been here every morning, waiting for you." See, Jesus always shows up, and when you don't make it, the Bible doesn't care if you don't show up, but Jesus does.

Isn't it time for you to renew a regular time to be with the One who loves you the most; to listen to Him as He speaks to you through His word, to talk about your real feelings and your real needs with Jesus? He cares enough about you that He can actually shed tears when His people won't take the love and the peace He offers and the time to be with Him. Could it be that the Lord Jesus is asking you, "Let's get together again?" Maybe He's been missing you and it's been long enough.