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“In faith there is enough light for those who want to believe and enough shadows to blind those who don’t.” — Blaise Pascal
Physicist Pascal hit the nail on the head with this quote. Anyone who has taught and prayed for a loved one to obey the gospel – only to hear excuse after excuse – knows that Pascal was correct.
Many people do not accept the truth because they don’t want to. The evidence of God’s existence and his saving grace is all around us. But if they don’t want to believe, no amount of begging, pleading or logic will make them do otherwise.
This is called “hardness of heart” in the Bible. This connection with faith is seen in Ephesians chapter four. “They are darkened in their understanding, alienated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them, due to their hardness of heart” (Ephesians 4:18).
What is the solution? Don’t give up! Continue to teach, continue to be a good example and continue to pray for your loved one’s soul. I know a woman who was a godly wife and mother. She prayed and taught her unbelieving husband for their entire marriage. But he never obeyed the gospel. In the sunset of their years together, the wife died. At the funeral, the preacher said, “This good woman is in heaven – waiting for all who are faithful Christians to join her. But those who are not right with the Lord will not be joining her.” The next Sunday, the widower walked down the aisle and asked to be baptized upon his repentance, faith and confession of Jesus Christ. He later said, “Praise God that my good wife never gave up on me.”
Larry Fitzgerald
Woodlawn church of Christ
Abilene, TX