When Students Leave...

God has blessed my wife and I by allowing us to lead a great group of young men & women in ministry. We've built deep relationships with many of them. It's been fantastic to watch them grow. To watch them come out of their shells. Many of them have gained tremendous confidence since they've given their lives to Christ. Several have done complete 180s. Not perfect, however, the Spirit of God is evident in their lives. And I love that!! There aren't too many things more gratifying than to see God transform the life of a young person. But then there's the part that I haven't come to grips with just yet. The part that makes me feel like there isn't enough oxygen in the atmosphere. There are some students that we've fully invested in. Time, energy, resources...AKA love. These students are like my children. Which is why it hurts so much when they leave. But it's not only the leaving that's hurtful. No! It's when a student leaves and they seem to have regressed. The Bible calls it back sliding. Now I don't claim to know how God feels when we, his children, back slide, but if it's anything like what I feel when I see my students back in the streets, dropping out of school, having children out of wedlock, and most of all abandoning their faith, my heart hurts. Maybe that is how God feels. Maybe God is so heart broken by our behavior that he cries...