March 27, 2020 – Click here to listen
I have a friend who is either an atheist or an agnostic, or maybe is just mad at God. I have tried on numerous occasions to tell him of God’s love for us, but he shuts me down immediately. I consider him to be one of my best friends and it saddens me that I cannot reason with him about it. I don’t know what might have happened to him in his younger years that might have turned him against God and the church, the few things he has told me seemed to indicate some unpleasant experiences with hypocrite churchgoers in his youth.
As with many such people I’ve known through the years who had similar feelings, he is otherwise very intelligent, witty, and fun to be around. I fish with him quite often and we have a good time together. Yesterday I felt really bad and was coughing, nauseous, had a constant headache, and just felt lousy. I don’t have any fever, and don’t much think it is the virus, but he called me to check on me and tried to cheer me up.
It really bothers me that I cannot reach my friend for the Lord. I know that unless he changes his ways, he is headed straight to hell. When I’ve told him just that he just states he is ready to face whatever is coming. There is an old adage that “there aren’t any atheists in foxholes,” but even when he recently faced a life-threatening disease, he stood his ground.
I was mulling this over this morning and came to the conclusion that the battle is ours, but the victory belongs to the Lord. We are tasked to fight the good fight in spreading the Gospel, but in the end the Holy Spirit convicts us of our sins and leads us to repentance and that beautiful relationship with our Savior. I pray for him and try to witness to him, but he cuts me off immediately when I start and tells me outright that while he respects that “religion” is good for me, he doesn’t want to hear it. He is emphatic about it and if I continue, he gets angry so I just shake my head and wish I could do more for him. Aside from prayer I’ve run out of ideas.
I cannot see into the future and determine if he will ever turn to Jesus, but right now it is looking pretty dim. The Bible tells us never to give up and reminds us that we can do all things through Christ who strengthen us in Philippians 4:13. That verse doesn’t mean ALL things. For example if you strongly desired to successfully run a brothel or drug smuggling operation He would not bless you. It means ALL things within His will for your life. I know the Jesus does not want anyone to perish and this man’s salvation is within His will for his life. The parable of one lost sheep from the flock of ninety-nine is a prime example of Jesus going the extra mile to find and rescue even one lost sheep. I believe that He similarly looks at my friend in the same manner not desiring that anyone might perish. So far, sadly, there are no breakthroughs in my buddy’s case.
So, what to do? My options are limited. I will of course continue to pray for him until the Lord calls me home and after that if it is allowed in heaven, I’ll keep petitioning God to melt his hardened heart. The Bible tells us that we cannot see clearly at the moment, but one day our eyes will be opened. When that happens, I will know just as God knows what more I might have done for my friend and others like him to lead them down the path to glorious adoption as a son of God. I just cannot accept that this man will spend eternity in hell separated from all that is good in all of creation.
1 Cor. 13:12
Now we see things imperfectly, like puzzling reflections in a mirror, but then we will see everything with perfect clarity. All that I know now is partial and incomplete, but then I will know everything completely, just as God now knows me completely.
Have a great weekend and watch church online this Sunday!