Reminders: God is Missing!
by Ardith Hoff
Two little boys were known “troublemakers” who were stealing everything they could get their hands on, even stealing from a church. One day the pastor stopped one of the boys and asked, “Where is God?” expecting him to know that God is everywhere. Instead, the boy shrugged and the pastor repeated, “Where is God?” The boy ran out of the church crying to his home, where he hid in a closet. Eventually, his brother found him and asked, “What's wrong?” The distraught boy sobbingly replied, “We're in BIG trouble! God is missing, and they think we took him!”
When we are trying to teach children (or adults for that matter) a lesson, we sometimes ask a question the person knows the answer to instead of stating what we want them to grasp. The idea is that the answer to the question will cause the person to discover the concept for him or herself. By asking the question, the pastor was hoping that the boy would realize that God is everywhere, and is able to see what he is doing. Instead, the strategy backfired. Though the boy discovered his guilt, he drew the wrong conclusion. It’s what makes the story funny.
But it isn’t funny when God is missing from our lives. We need God to point us in the right direction, to help us know that we are on the right track, and to assure us that what we are doing will have the right outcome. When God is missing (meaning we have shut Him out) we wander foolishly into all kinds of mischief.
Even if we grew up in a Godly home, and have been taught right from wrong, temptations present themselves. If we leave God out of the equation, it is way too easy to get involved in things we shouldn’t. When we keep God at the core of our being, He is there to guide us. Jesus tells us: “But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, He will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you.” John 14:26 We need to welcome the Holy Spirit back into our lives, if He has been missing, and renew a right relationship with God.