We have hope not
only for ourselves but for our loved ones who choose not to believe-
1Co 7:14 For the
unbelieving husband is sanctified by the wife, and the unbelieving wife is
sanctified by the husband: else were your children unclean; but now are they
holy.
Choosing to believe
in our Savior doesn't mean everyone around us will choose to believe as we
do. I can remember well the newness of
my walk with Christ, the JOY. Anyone who has ever been in love with another
person knows this feeling, this love. The world around you seems different, so
many things seem amazing that were only ordinary before. And the joy is something you want all around
you to experience. Unlike falling in love with someone, you do want others to
fall in love with Jesus. You want others to have the joy you have in the gospel
of Jesus Christ. You want others to have
the hope of eternity that salvation brings. You can't understand why others
don't want this joy, this hope, but all too often our loved ones sadly,
tragically don't.
Whereas lingering
about unbelievers is something we aren't supposed to do, especially after
they've outright rejected the gospel, we aren't to leave our spouses even if
they reject the gospel.
We must stay and
have hope.
Hope.
We can't know the
heart of ANY other, not fully, not as God can know it. We can't even know our own heart. We can't judge ANY one's eternal life, not
even the worst of the worst in our way of thinking. We might WANT to judge
another, a monster who tortures others, we may want to judge their eternal
life, but in truth we still cannot judge that.
We can judge actions, we can comprehend right from wrong. We can condemn
another's actions without condemning their eternal life.
We must all seek
forgiveness and repentance in Christ Jesus our Lord. We must all look to
Christ's righteousness, not our own. We must all follow that which we know is
of God. When we know to do good and do it not, then we are guilty of knowing
and not doing. When we don't know to do
good we aren't guilty for that ignorance. God will not leave us in ignorance of
salvation. We are liable for rejecting the opportunities to know to do good. We
make choices and we are responsible for those choices.
God doesn't ask us
to hate anyone! God doesn't want us to brow beat anyone! God doesn't want us to
shove salvation down anyone's throat, in fact if we are trying to shove
salvation down the throats of others then it's not really salvation we are
teaching at all. There is no salvation
void of love. And if people believe they
are loving another when they try to force them to believe as they do, they are
deceived. Jesus didn't force a single person to believe Him, not one!
We all need to pray
for Salvation.
We all need to seek
after our God.
We all need to pray
for those who choose not to believe, not to seek God.
May God bless us,
all of us as we seek HIM, to know Him and be known of Him.
Please, God, please.
All through Jesus
Christ our LORD, our SAVIOR!
Amen.
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