Friday, June 29, 2012

We All Let Each Other Down

Now while he was in Jerusalem at the Passover Feast, many people saw the miraculous signs he was doing and believed in his name. But Jesus would not entrust himself to them, for he knew all men. -- John 2:23-24

Someone has almost certainly let you down. Maybe you’ve been lied to or misled. Maybe you counted on a friend to be there when you were sick or someone hurt your feelings or didn’t do enough or care enough or give you enough time. Whatever it was, you ended up unhappy and feeling rejected.

And, you know what? Someone else could say all those things about you. Because we let people down just like they let us down. Nobody can always do and say the right thing. And nobody can always be there when we need something or someone. It’s just that simple and that complicated.

It’s always interesting to remember in this age of Facebook friends and twitter followers that Jesus let only a few people close to Him. Jesus had thousands who followed Him, but He chose 12 to closely teach. That should tell us something.

We laugh about that 15 minutes of fame, but it’s just so true. One minute someone is your dearest friend and the next minute that same person is gossiping behind your back. Friend or foe? Sometimes it’s really difficult to tell the difference.

Most of us want to be good people. We want to be good friends. It’s just that we get so caught up in ourselves and what we want and what we think is best for us, that we neglect the wants and needs of others. We forget to love people first and put everything else behind that.

Not long ago I heard a radio minister telling a story about a man who just had to see the minister right that minute. The man had been going through some things and suddenly it all made sense. The minister wasn’t available but suggested that there were two other pastors available to speak with him. They wouldn’t do.

The man waited for the minister as he headed out the door, insisting again that he had to speak with him. The man couldn’t believe that anything else could be more important than his needs in that moment.

Ah, but there was. The minister’s son had a ballgame and he’d promised to be there. As the minister explained to the man, other pastors could counsel with him but his son only had one father and he was going to the game.

Life sometimes comes down to choices. Sometimes those choices hurt one person in order to please another. And sometimes we’re just selfish and thoughtless and we just don’t have a clue.

We let each other down. Jesus knew and expected it. We should learn from that. It won’t erase the hurt but it will help us understand and forgive.