Don’t Give Up

*Posted by Joe Wooddell

I am not sure if the following is encouraging, discouraging, or in a sense both. But it is true:

Sometimes no matter how good of an argument we give, no matter how loving, self-sacrificing, and obedient to God we are, and sometimes no matter how much we pray, some people will never turn to Jesus. Do not quit doing these things; we are commanded to do them, and sometimes God uses these things to help break down barriers before a person chooses to repent and believe in the gospel.

It is devastating to think of people we care for dying and going to hell. It should break our hearts, and it should certainly be part of what motivates us to go into all the world with Jesus message (Mt. 28:18-20). But Jesus Himself said if the world hates us it hated Him first (Jn. 15:18). He said many find the broad way to death and hell, but few find the narrow way to life (Mt. 7:13-14). He inspired Paul to write that the gospel is foolishness or a stumbling block to some people (1 Cor. 1:23).

So when you lie down at night and wonder why those you care for just dont see the truth, remember passages like these. Again, do not let them cause you to despair. Keep studying, working, and praying, and keep trusting that God is good. And keep telling people the truth in love (Eph. 4:15). As we do, God will work in some peoples lives.

A quick story and Im done: I remember saying a prayer and then giving a young woman a copy of C. S. Lewiss Mere Christianity and Josh McDowells Evidence That Demands a Verdict before she moved to another town. I barely knew her, but we worked at the same place, and I figured she was not a believer. A few years later I ran into a guy who knew her, and I asked about her. He said someone had given her these books and she was in church and had accepted Christ. I was floored. My little part in the process had borne fruit, and of course God gets all the glory.

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