Contacts – Who Matters?

Because he has focused his love on me, I will deliver him.  I will protect him because he knows my name.  When he calls out to me, I will answer him.  I will be with him in his distress.  I will deliver him and I will honor him.                  Psalm 91:14-15

Years ago the choir at Mt. Bethel held a talent show to benefit the music ministry. There was incredible talent that night (Elvis even made an appearance), but one of the acts in the program had a great song which was amazing then, and it still brings back sweet memories.  The song was, Operator (Get Me Jesus on the Line).  Tennessee Ernie Ford recorded it on one of his albums in 1982, and it brings up a visual image of talking on the phone with Jesus via a direct line.  I find that image so comforting.

In this culture, when the phone rings, the first thing we do is look at our contact list or caller ID to see who’s calling.  If we want to talk to this person, then we answer – if not, we ignore the call. If you think about all the times your calls go to voicemail, it could be quite sobering to think of the person on the other end of the line ignoring your call. I’ve heard people say, “Oh, that’s just whoever – I’ll call them back.” Sometimes they say, “This call is important, I have to take it now.” I began pondering how Jesus must feel when we ignore His calls or prioritize who matters.

The question arises, who in our contact list or life matters and who doesn’t?  Who makes a difference in our life?  Is Jesus’ call one that we would answer or ignore?  How accessible is Jesus to us?

It’s interesting to me that in research 24% of Americans and/or Christians today see God as distant and detached.  Another 21% see Him as distant and angry, while 31% see Him as involved but angry.  It begs the question,”Is it Jesus who is distant or could we be ignoring His call?

When God “calls”, it’s usually because He is seeking to help, not ever hurt.  We all matter to God, and if we call on Him, He never ignores the call whether it be to thank Him, beseech Him, or just talk to Him.

This dates me, but when I went off to college, my Daddy said, “You call us anytime and call collect”.  That phrase meant I could call anytime and not pay for the call – he picked up the bill.  Every time we need Him, God wants us to call collect because we matter.