no one understands; no one seeks for God. all have turned aside; together they have become worthless; no one does good, not even one. [romans 3:11-12]
there are many ways people come to the Lord. for some it’s a radical transformation, for others it’s a slow transition into faith. for some it’s a mixture of the two. for all believers, at some point, it became so perfectly clear that we could never be good enough; that we needed a savior. there is a point when being called into grace that having faith in Jesus wasn’t scary or foolish. it was everything that you wanted.
i can’t really describe what it took in my life for that switch to occur, except for a constant pursuit from God. no matter what i did, the “good” i tried to do or how much i sought “god”. but that is the truth, nothing we can do will earn a way to salvation.
john answered, “a person cannot receive even one thing unless it is given him from heaven. . .” – john 3:27
no one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him. and i will raise him up on the last day. – john 6:44
now as a father, a leader, and a husband, i struggle with “reasoning” others into faith. forgetting that without God drawing them and shaping their hearts, it can never be. so right now, let’s take at least a moment to contend for those around us.
whoever God has placed around you (kids, spouse, co-workers, students, etc.) pray to the Father that he would remove their blindness. plead that they see their rebellion. that they see their need for a rescue. pray that they would see Jesus as their savior!
looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God. – hebrews 12:2
~ joe lorsung