Don't Quit

I couldn’t sleep early this morning so I climbed out of bed and made my way to the living room where I flipped on the television and began surfing channels. I was going through the religious channels when I noticed a familiar face preaching to a vast audience. At first, I was unsure if I recognized the preacher but soon his familiar voice distinguished his identity. He is the pastor of a multi-thousand member congregation and a prolific author. I have all his books and have read all of them but one and some of them several times over, and the only reason I have not read the one is because I have not purchased it yet.

I sat spell bound in the wee hours of the morning as he preached a message about Christians talking to non-Christians about their relationship with the Lord. I was especially taken in by a story he told concerning one of his neighbors. The preacher was taking out the trash one evening when he noticed a new neighbor also taking out his trash. The Holy Spirit prompted the preacher to walk across the street to meet this man. It was frigid outside but the pastor obeyed. This led to a six year relationship. The neighbor let the pastor know up front that he had not attended church in his adult life and had no plans of doing so in the future. The two rode motorcycles together and developed a real friendship. The pastor love and prayed and waited for God to open the door.

The pastor invited the neighbor to church on Easter and the man attended on Easter Sunday along with his family. He did not come back the following week, or the next, or next, and so on. The pastor invited his friend back to church on Christmas. He again attended and enjoyed the service. Periodically this continued, until the neighbor accepted Christ as His Savior six long years later. Now this well to do business man is serving the Lord in the very church he had wanted nothing to do with before. God still does that. He uses our meager efforts and through the work of the Holy Spirit draws people continually to Himself. What a joy to get to be a part of that.

I was deeply moved by this story and needed to hear it. It was a gentle reminder to not give up on people I love and care about and pray for continually. There are friends and family that we must love into the kingdom even it means years of rejection go before us. But it is easy to get discouraged with each refusal. [Gal 6:9] is good medicine for the soul.

So once again, I issue the challenge for each of you to continually cultivate relationships with people who may not know Jesus. I urge you to pray with all the faith you have and to not give up on them. Who knows, maybe six years from now those same people will be transformed by the power of Jesus and serve Him with passion for the remainder of their days. “Let us not lose heart in doing good for in due time we will reap if we do not grow weary.” [Gal 6:9]