Re:Verse reading–Acts 4:5-31 (day seven)
There is a story in Luke 16 that puzzles me. Two men die. One goes to heaven, the other goes to hell. The man in hell begs for a drop of water to touch his tongue which Abraham denies. Then he begs Abraham to send the other dead man to his house to warn his 5 brothers of the torment of hell, which Abraham also denies. The man in hells believes if they see a miracle they will surely repent, but Jesus knows better.
“If they do not listen to Moses and the Prophets, they will not be persuaded even if someone rises from the dead.” Luke 16:31
In my heart, I want those 5 brothers to believe when God does something incredible, but some people are not going to change their minds no matter what they see or what you say. Peter is confronted with this fact in Acts 4. The rulers see an unmistakable miracle and instead of believing they try to suppress the Gospel. Did none of them wonder what God was doing?
No matter what you do or what you say you will not be able to convert all the naysayers. All we can do is be a faithful witness to the Gospel, and our God will shape people’s hearts. If they do not believe you have not failed, they have failed. They have failed to see God for who He really is.
Thanks for bringing on the realities! People have their own agendas, personal and professional. People with different cultures also have different experiences, values and beliefs, and philosophies. Change requires a new mindset and giving up the old. For some, it will be very difficult to form something new; something that they are not familiar with. Fear factors, including uncertainties, are the rationale for any reaction to adapting the new mindset and going toward a totally new direction.
This blog reminds me of the concept, “Just Do Your Part”! We cannot control how others think, do or react but we only can control what we do and are expected to do. If everyone is doing what he or she is expected to do and do well, how can we fail as an organization? Regardless what the outcomes may be, when you do your part and do well, you will be pleased that you have contributed to your best abilities. Knowing that we have contributed to a meaningful mission is very self-fulfilling!
How do you view change? Do you embrace or reject change? And Why?
Chris I was challenged to go back & listen then read your blog comments the very 1st time you did blog with Aaron & Bryan & I cannot find the ‘live'(recorded broadcast) but I DID read this ReVerse comment of yours and I totally agree. In my ‘advanced’ more mature years now, I can look back on all the people I probably tried to FORCE feed the gospel to & failed miserably..two such come to mind right now, one of my younger sons & my baby brother, both men now, both who as children professed Christ as Saviour & were baptized at way earlier ages than I was, since I INSISTED on waiting until JESUS called me to profess Him & walk the aisle. I was NOT going to be FORCED into getting baptized just because I was about to turn 13!! So those experiences right there prove to me what you said 2017 & today 2020, God will put people in our paths who are SEEKING Him & they are the ones we reach out to, don’t try to hog-tie someone into trusting, believing, taking that step/leap of faith! (ref 9/24/17)
“In my heart, I want those 5 brothers to believe when God does something incredible, but some people are not going to change their minds no matter what they see or what you say.” YOU ARE SPOT ON here in your statement back then…I want my son & my brother to come back to their Lord but I can’t force them to change their minds…they think I’m an idiot when I remind them WHO they belong to! They both said several years ago just to Bob & to me that all Bible stories are myths, there is NO heaven or hell & I’m a fool to still believe there is! Well I continue to pray for them but I can’t force them…instead I now focus on letting the Lord lead me to those earnestly seeking my Father!