A man named Saul day 4

 Saul was a terror before he met Jesus. Luke wrote, “Saul was still breathing out murderous threats against the Lord’s disciples” (Ac 9.1). He was like a wild and ferocious beast in his passion to destroy these people who were spreading the news about Jesus.

In other words, Saul would have been voted “Least Likely to Convert to Christianity.”

And yet he did. He didn’t just convert to following Christ, he became the greatest missionary the world has ever known. He took the message to the very epicentre of the ancient world, the city of Rome. He suffered tremendously for the sake of his mission, but he did so willingly for the sake of advancing the borders of God’s kingdom to the ends of the earth.

And that brings up an interesting thing for us to consider. Who is too far away from God? Who is so unlikely to convert to Christianity that it’s not even worth your time to pray about them? Jimmy Carr? Kim-Jung-Un? Richard Dawkins? Cardi B? Your spouse? Your ex? Your brother-in-law? Your dad? Your next-door neighbour? Who is so far out there, so far gone, that you’re not even going to waste your breath talking to God about them?

Jesus loves porn stars and the drunk in the gutter. He loves Muslims and atheists. He loves mass murderers. He loves people who get divorced, and He loves people who gossip about people who get divorced. He loves everyone. And no one — not a single person who still has breath in his or her body — is too far away for the grace of God to reach.

So don’t say no for someone else.

We’re so willing to say, “Oh, not that guy. He’ll never be interested in having a personal relationship with God. I’m not gonna waste my breath on him.”

Don’t say no for him. Pray about him. Ask God to open a door of opportunity, and be ready to walk through when it opens.

Spend time today thinking about those who you would vote “Least Likely to Convert to Christianity.” Pray for them. Some of them may be celebrities. Others may be people you work with or know casually. Pray for them. Ask God to soften their hearts to His message. Ask God to begin the process of drawing them to Himself. Then ask God to include you in that process.

 

Prayer

 

Father, there are so many forces of opposition against the gospel of Christ in this world, and the multiple attacks on Christianity have become more fierce in our time than ever. When I think of some of the people who are bitterly opposed to the gospel, it seems that nothing could break through such hatred for the truth. But then I remember remarkable instances of the dramatic conversion of people who were at enmity with you. Like Saul on the road to Damascus, who was transformed by the power of the resurrected Christ, no one is beyond Your reach. You can change the unlikeliest of people into trophies of Your love and grace. May I therefore not hate those who are opposed to the gospel, but pray for their conversion. I ask for the grace to see people in light of eternity, and never to underestimate the power of prayer and witness.

In Jesus’s name, Amen