I've taken lately to inviting Jehovah Witness's in for coffee, as that is the only company I get these days. While I may joke about it, it is not a laughing matter to me, however. We have been shunned by the church that we have attended for all of my life, and all of my mother's married life. I also had a preacher from a different larger church that we attended for a year, after trying to find support somewhere else other than the small church that I grew up in (thinking that was the problem), tell me that I was "selfish" for expecting him to come and visit my elderly mother, who is a shut in.
Family isn't much better, one visit by one group of family in 3 years, and a refusal to come to her 88th birthday party 3 years ago, because they had seen her 6 months prior? Seriously? She might be dead in another 6 months! Mom is still active and able to carry on a conversation, she is not unresponsive. She might forget what she just told you, but she still has much of her same personality. They came before, why not now, with the onset of Alzheimer's? I cease to try to figure it out.
Friends haven't been much better. To date I have lost two, and the others don't even come or call anymore. I have my loyal facebook friends and Memory People support group (also on facebook), but that is it. Makes you wonder what the world is coming to. It used to make me mad, real mad. In fact, trying to 'reason' it out and stand up for myself, was what caused me to lose the two friends. I guess they weren't "real" friends after all, so I just let them go.
I often find myself lost in a desert oasis. I know those are contradictory terms, but life is often like that. It can be lush and green on the one hand and dry and barren on the other, much like our spiritual life. We can put forth a "Front" of lush green pastures and good deeds untold, but when the poor come knocking on our door, do we turn them away? As Jesus said, in Matthew 25: 31-46, “When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his glorious throne. All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left. Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.’ Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’ The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’ Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, I was a stranger and you did not invite me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me.’ They also will answer, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help you?’ He will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.’ Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life.”
Is this the state of the world today? It would appear so. Jesus also warns us of this in the end times, peoples love will wax cold. "And because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold." Matthew 24:12. This would appear to be what is happening. There is no love there, no love of God and no love of our fellow man. We live in a rat race society and if you don't keep up you get run over, or left behind. (Hmm...seems like there's a book by that name!) Simple as that.
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