How do you feel about your family? Do you love them? Do you wish the best for them? Do you let them know? Are you concerned for them? Do you pray for them? Do you have family members who do not follow Christ? Do you talk to them about Him?
Generally speaking, we love our families. Oh, we have our spats and we may have that weird uncle who is awkward to speak to. We may have family members we don’t trust or who take advantage of our kindness. But we love our them anyway. After all, they are family.
Yet, when it comes to talking to them about Jesus, we can find it a challenge to speak to them about Him. We may have family members who don’t want anything to do with religion. They may think churches are a scam. They may have been hurt by people in the church. Here’s the question I ask, “If someone insulted you at Walmart, would you stop going there?” The answer is, no. The church is full of people who need grace, mercy, and forgiveness, just like the rest of the world.
Our hearts, just the Apostle Paul’s, should break over family members who do not follow Jesus. We, who do follow Jesus, know the consequences for not following Jesus, both in this life and for eternity. We do not need to try to convince them on our own. We can plant the seeds. We can pray that God work in lives to convince them to follow Jesus. We can point them to a pastor or someone else to answer questions we cannot answer. Regardless of how we go about trying to draw them to Christ, our hearts should continue to break and we should continue to pray for them.
I pray our hearts break for anyone who does not follow Jesus. I pray we continue to plant seeds. I pray each one of us will continue to pray for our families, especially those who do not follow Jesus. Be heartbroken for the lost. Continue to plant seeds. Pray for your families. Pray for the lost.
Romans 9:1-3 I am speaking the truth in Christ—I am not lying; my conscience confirms it by the Holy Spirit—I have great sorrow and unceasing anguish in my heart. For I could wish that I myself were accursed and cut off from Christ for the sake of my own brothers and sisters, my own flesh and blood.
Marty Pressey 