For God so loved the world, He gave His only begotten Son,
that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have everlasting life. John 3:16
Our next-door neighbor came over the very first day we moved into our new house and introduced herself to me. We became fast friends, and it wasn’t long before I wanted to share the Lord with her. I started praying and decided to just be my authentic self and not hold back (at least not too much).
Soon I learned that she had never been to church in her entire 64 years of life. I invited her, and she politely found an excuse not to come. I kept inviting, and she kept politely refusing. At Easter she said she would come and that morning she went to the hospital with appendicitis!
It wasn’t until the next Easter that she again agreed to come. She wanted to learn more, and we studied Matthew together. It was challenging to explain God and the Bible, Jesus, salvation, and grace to someone who was a blank slate. There were many times I was discouraged by her arguments, but she always wanted to keep going, so we did.
After two years we moved again, and the hardest part was leaving my friend and neighbor. She went to our church Alpha course with me in those last few months and my hopes were high, but even as she learned more about Jesus, she was pulled away by other friends and the interest she had faded.
I felt like a failure. And honestly, I was a bit angry. I had never invested so consistently in a relationship, and I was sure God was using me to bring this friend to Jesus.
But you know what? God hasn’t given up. She hasn’t given in to His love, yet; but that doesn’t mean she won’t. I’ve been able to pray for her several times during health emergencies and she always says it makes a difference.
Do you have someone like this in your life? In Luke 18, Jesus told his disciples to ‘always pray and not give up.’ He also told us…
And I will do whatever you ask in my name,
so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. John 14:13
We know it’s God’s will that everyone be saved, so we can pray with confidence when we ask for the salvation of others. We also know that God doesn’t go against our free will. We are called to be Jesus’ hands extended to the world, and sometimes that means being rejected like He was.
Just as Jesus continues to reach out to those who do not know Him, He has called us to do the same. 2 Timothy 2:14 says,“… if we are faithless, He remains faithful, for He cannot disown Himself.” Though it may be discouraging when someone we love hasn’t come to faith yet, we can find strength not to give up hope, knowing that God is still working to bring them to Himself.
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