"But when he finally came to his senses, he said, 'How many of my father's hired men have more than enough bread, but I am dying here with hunger!' " Luke 15:17
Today's writing is a follow-up to my last, which was titled, "Coming Back."
I very recently heard about an interview Lee Strobel, a one time atheist, had with Charles Templeton. Templeton was once a very effective Christian evangelist and a close friend of Rev. Billy Graham. Sometime in the late 40's, he began to have doubts about his faith. He questioned the accuracy and authority of Scripture, the existence of hell, and even the deity of Jesus Christ. By 1959, he abandoned his faith completely, becoming first an agnostic, and then an outspoken atheist.
Strobel, in the midst of writing his classic, The Case For Christ, interviewed Templeton. He asked him for his reasons for leaving the faith, and Templeton was blunt with his reasons, very assured, and very in control of himself. Then Strobel asked him what his thoughts about Jesus were. With that, Templeton's countenance softened, as he declared Jesus Christ to be the greatest man who ever lived, expounding on all of his virtues. As Templeton continued the softening did as well. It climaxed with Templeton saying, "I...I...I miss Him." As he said this, he began to weep, his shoulders shaking, his head in his hands. Finally, he composed himself, and returned to the interview, which shortly ended. The man who told this story said, "I don't know if Charles Templeton ever came home....but you can," and that is the most wonderful of promises to us. No matter how far from our home in Him we may have wandered, no matter how deeply into the far country we may have journeyed, we can come home....to Him.
Strobel, in the midst of writing his classic, The Case For Christ, interviewed Templeton. He asked him for his reasons for leaving the faith, and Templeton was blunt with his reasons, very assured, and very in control of himself. Then Strobel asked him what his thoughts about Jesus were. With that, Templeton's countenance softened, as he declared Jesus Christ to be the greatest man who ever lived, expounding on all of his virtues. As Templeton continued the softening did as well. It climaxed with Templeton saying, "I...I...I miss Him." As he said this, he began to weep, his shoulders shaking, his head in his hands. Finally, he composed himself, and returned to the interview, which shortly ended. The man who told this story said, "I don't know if Charles Templeton ever came home....but you can," and that is the most wonderful of promises to us. No matter how far from our home in Him we may have wandered, no matter how deeply into the far country we may have journeyed, we can come home....to Him.
Where in your life are you missing Him today? Where has the relationship been diminished? Where has it been lost? Where has the sweet fellowship you once knew with Him disappeared? Where, when you let down your guard, your doubt, your reasons for rejecting Him, do you too say, "I miss Him!" Where do you too weep over the loss. Can you believe that even now, you can come home. Only the Father knows if Charles Templeton ever did....but you can. If you too have wandered from His side, you can come home. He waits to welcome you back to His heart. The heart that is our, your, true home.
Blessings,
Pastor O
Pastor O
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