Unbelieving family members.
I'm sure many people have this same issue because it's becoming very drastic with the way things are going.
Family is more difficult to talk to about God’s Word because you love them and don’t want to hurt them, especially when God commands us to love our neighbor as ourselves which we do. Loving them does mean to tell them what they need to hear, not what they want to hear.
For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord. - Romans 8:38-39.
For the time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions, and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander off into myths. - 2 Timothy 4:3-4.
Faith in Jesus also explains that we may lose those family members, they’ll want to stay away for that very reason because of the fact of people’s beliefs and that they love Jesus, they want to obey Him and keep His Commandments. We are meant to love Jesus more than our family and if anyone does love their family more than Jesus, they’re not worthy of Him.
Whoever loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me, and whoever loves son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me. And whoever does not take his cross and follow Me is not worthy of Me. - Matthew 10:37-38.
I wanted to make a post about this because I believe it’s very relatable, especially with the experiences I’ve had. They may not listen, but pray that they will change one day with God’s help and His perfect timing. Preaching the gospel is a must as Mark 16:15 says, but if those people are not meant to change, God predestined for them the place they may end up in which is hell and He predestined that for all of us even before He created everything in the world where we’re meant to end up, either Heaven or hell. We don’t want them to go to hell, all we can do is tell them the information about how to get God’s free gift of eternal life and if they don’t listen to that information, there’s nothing more we can do to tell them and that’ll be on their souls. Showing them love, compassion, understanding while showing them God’s light inside of us might change them, praying they will change that way if nothing else works, but it’s got to be when God wants that to happen. I’ve learned that just in the short amount of time I’ve been reading God’s Word with my family, still new with learning about Him and what He expects from us in our walk with Him, but it all makes sense when we have God’s Holy Spirit dwelling inside of us and guiding us. Thank you all for taking the time to read my posts and this one too. I pray that this post gives you more insight as to what preaching the gospel to family members is all about. I have more posts in the works. God Bless everyone!
But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. - Galatians 5:22-23.