Why don’t I hear from anyone?
Question:
Good day, sir,
I'm a bit frustrated. I don't hear from the people of the church, even before I took a job that has me traveling for months at a time. All I ever have to keep me going in the faith is the Bible. I don't want to give up on God just because people don't check up on me.
Answer:
Over the years, I have noticed a strong tendency for people to complain about the very things that they do. The person who complains that the church is inhospitable never has people over to his house and declines invitations to come and share a dinner. The person who complains that the church is unloving never stays around after services to talk to people but dashes out the door, and you don't hear from them again until the next time they come.
Paul mentions this tendency, "Therefore you have no excuse, everyone of you who passes judgment, for in that which you judge another, you condemn yourself; for you who judge practice the same things" (Romans 2:1). Whenever I have a complaint about others, I try to remember to consider whether I'm contributing to the problem or solving the problem.
So, my question for you is: How often do you write to brethren and tell them how you miss them and what you remember best about them? Communication is a two-way street. My mother-in-law recently passed away, but what everyone remembered about her were the personal cards she would send. Even when she was frail and could not get out, she would write cards. Those cards always contained messages about what she appreciated about them. She would send the preachers cards telling them what a good lesson they had presented. She would send cards to tell someone she noticed being particularly kind to a child that they were a great mother. What made them special was that she meant what she said.
If you want people to remember you, remember their special traits. If you want people to send notes to you, send notes to them about what you like about them.