Why are we busy chasing squirrels while people around us are dying to find the love and truth of Jesus?

I’m completely heartbroken. God has shattered my Saturday. One moment I’m focusing on me and the next I’m pondering my every decision.

I was on my carport making steps for the stage for Centerpoint Church. I’ve taken my time and my money to make something that will help the church and hopefully further the Kingdom. The problem?

In the middle of my project multiple cop cars, an ambulance, and a firetruck quietly crept up to my neighbor’s house and parked in the street. My initial thoughts are of curiousity and concern. I think to myself, “I wonder what happened, I hope everything is okay” and then I go back to making the steps.

20 minutes later most the emergency vehicles are gone but a familiar pastoral face pulls up to talk with the homeowner. It’s completely random that this friend of mine is suddenly at my neighbor’s house on some sort of official business. Now I’m really interested.

I kept an ear out for my friend to leave in hopes that I could grab him and find out the situation. Fortunately I did. Want to know what happened?

Old lady slipped and fell?
Little kid got a concussion?
Husband yell at the wife and get into a fight?

Nope. Nope. Nope.

The mother, a 30 something mother of 3 small children was so hopeless that she attempted to take her life.

Let that sink in for a moment.

A young mom was in such despair that she would rather leave her 3 children and husband without a mom and a wife than bear to deal with life for one more day.

Luckily the mom wasn’t successful but nonetheless she’s at the hospital recovering while dad is home alone with the kids.

How can this happen?! This is MY neighbor! I’m a Pastor! We started a church! To reach the lost! And give them hope! And we failed to do that to my neighbor that lives a few houses down from me.

We failed this family of 5.

I’m building steps for church when I should be talking to them about Jesus.

I share this because most of us Christ followers in Lakeland are asleep at the wheel. Yes we clap when people get saved, or baptized but then we flip back to the regularly schedule programming. Maybe we even started a church but the truth is that we are still focused so much on ourselves that we are blind to the plight of those around us.

When will we step up? When will we reach out? We must do more. We must be more purposeful. We must prioritize in ways that actually line up with following Jesus. People are LITERALLY dying to find the hope we have in Christ. They aren’t satisfied by the things of this world and they’re practically begging us to share it with them.

I hope this wrecks your Saturday night like it has mine. I hope this rocks your world. It should.