Most secular people are steeped in their own ideas about life. They don’t want to associate with serious Christians. They enjoy their sin and are pretty content with life. To suggest that they should turn their backs on their beliefs and lifestyle and abandon themselves to full devotion to Jesus feels almost ridiculous. We are asking them to believe that a virgin gave birth to a man who was God in the flesh. We are telling them that knowing Jesus Christ is the only way to escape hell. A talking snake tempted the first humans, and because they gave in to the temptation, the whole world fell into darkness. No wonder people sometimes mock and laugh.
My wife and I had some missionary friends for dinner the other night. They have served in several different countries in North Africa and the Middle East through the years. Islam is so dominant in the places they’ve served in that if someone leaves Islam and embraces Christianity they will be disowned by their family. They may even be in danger physically. Amazingly, people in these situations still come to faith!
Not interested
When I was about twenty years old I was consumed with music. That’s all I thought about and all I talked about. I played guitar constantly. I also did a lot of drugs. I lived for pleasure. I had my thoughts about God and the afterlife—but Jesus was not in the equation at all. I concocted my own little spirituality. To say it mildly, when I heard that being a Christian meant I had to abstain from sex, stop using drugs, and devote myself to the Church, I balked. I wanted nothing to do with it. Why would I want to be a Christian if it meant all my favorite practices would need to die. And on top of it, it would be social suicide! I don’t think anything could have been more unappealing to me than becoming some sort of Jesus Freak.
It’s important to understand that people who are spiritually lost (unregenerate) have no desire to submit themselves to the living God. The Bible teaches that the things of God are actually foolishness to the person who doesn’t have the Holy Spirit. The Bible teaches that people love darkness rather than light. They don’t want to stop sinning. They aren’t interested in being conformed to the image of Christ.
Futile
That said, it can feel futile to attempt to persuade someone that they should follow Christ. I remember years ago walking down Thayer Street in Providence and coming upon a group of teens full of angst. The impression I got was that these kids were the least likely people to become followers of Jesus. Their whole identity was rebellion. It hit me hard that these young people were a million miles away from becoming Christians.
It makes me think of some of the Jehovah Witnesses I talked with when I lived in NYC. I believe they are in a full-blown cult religion and talking with them felt utterly futile because they were so brainwashed. It felt like no matter what I said—and I gave my best to persuade them—they were unmoved. They just did not budge from their position.
Think about the man intoxicated with the love of money. Think about the college student who lives to party. Think about the young artist who espouses views that are unbiblical to the core. How can someone racing at lightning speed in the opposite direction from God be turned around? It feels impossible.
But isn’t that what happened in the early Church? It’s easy to romanticize those days, but we need to remember that deciding to follow Jesus was extremely dangerous. Many Christ-followers were beaten, imprisoned, stoned to death, and even crucified. At the end of the first century, the emperor Nero committed unbelievable atrocities against Christians. And yet, people were still coming to Christ and publicly following Him. It’s crazy, right?
Something clicked
Tonight I’m baptizing a couple young friends, and one of them described a moment in their life when “something just clicked.” This epiphany moment that Christians have is different for each of us. Some describe a time when they suddenly just knew it was true. Some have dramatic encounters with God. Some feel the love of God so intensely in the church community that it makes them realize that Christ is real. Many have had their epiphany during the preached Word like in Acts 2. It’s not always a sudden experience with lightning from heaven and the audible voice of God. In fact, often, it’s a quiet experience of deep conviction. It sometimes happens gradually until a person looks back and realizes, “I believe!”
In our efforts to spread the gospel it’s easy to get discouraged over how difficult it is to persuade people to follow Jesus. Remember that it is God who awakens the heart. Even the person we consider the furthest from believing in God—the Savior can awaken to faith with one touch of His hand. It’s not that we shouldn’t try to persuade people at times. The Lord uses our persuasion regarding the truth. But our human pressure and coercion are not what causes a person to serve Christ with total abandon.
Prayer
That’s why prayer is so important in the mission. Prayer is an expression of dependence on God for the salvation of others. Ask God to make things click. Ask God to send a light from heaven. Ask God to come with deep conviction. Ask God to open the eyes of the heart of the person you are trying to reach.
When God reveals Himself to a person, it seems like there’s no going back. They can’t not believe! The revelation is so deep that it produces a settled conviction within them. Even in the face of many “dangers, toils and snares” the awakened person cannot back down. It’s as if God Himself puts His hand upon a person and walks with them until the end.
Maybe you are wanting to reach an atheist? Or maybe someone you work with who relentlessly mocks the faith? Maybe you are burdened to reach a friend who is completely in love with the drug lifestyle and shows no signs of even wanting to stop? Maybe you know someone who, if they professed faith in Christ, would be disowned by their entire family? There’s no situation too difficult for our God.