Saturday, January 26, 2008

Losing Touch

All my life I have been a letter writer. My parents instilled this habit in me when I was just old enough to write my own letters. We won't discuss the penmanship! But it was a habit that helped me to want to stay in touch with my friends.

So when I lose touch with someone, I feel a slight bit of a loss. To be sure, there are those with whom I intentionally lost touch. Those were the ones who were less likely to maintain contact without a lot of personal effort. But those people are few and far between.

Recently, I lost touch with a friend--one who walked the hills with me down in South America. We stood on steep cliffs together, looking over the glorious sights below. We drove up and down rough and rugged terrain. We spoke with locals who shared their native beliefs as to why it did or did not rain in a given time of the year.

I left that part of South America first; he followed about a year later. My roads took me one direction; his, another. But we stayed in touch. E mail and cell phones made that possible.

Last year he told me he was moving again. He said he would be in touch as soon as he got settled. I guess he is still getting settled...

Sounds kind of sad, doesn't it? I guess it is. But it is not as sad as losing touch with our Lord. That would be the Lord Jesus Christ, in case you have some other "lord" in mind. Have you ever lost touch with him? Was there a time when you sang, "And he walks with me and he talks with me, and he tells me I am his own...?" Was there a time when you did that, but now you don't? Were you an Enoc, walking with the Lord, staying in touch throughout the day; but now you just don't have time?

Maybe you remember that song "Cat's in the Cradle," a song about a dad and his son. The boy was born and not too long afterward, dad lost touch; he was too busy. Later, when the dad had time, the boy was emulating his dad. Now the boy had no time for his dad. "We'll get together soon, Dad; you know we'll have a good time then."

Don't lose touch with the Lord Jesus. Make time for him. Make walking and talking with him the first thing. You know you'll have a good time, then, friend; you know you'll have a good time then.