Unreachable

There are some people who can simply not be reached with the gospel of Christ. It is not for the lack of effort that has been spent to reach them. It is not for their lack of ability to learn or to change. It is not for the lack of God's desire to reach them - consider what all He has done - what else is left for Him to do? It is not for their lack of opportunity to hear the message and respond.  The basic reason some people are unreachable is because they do not want to be reached.

As the years pass in my ministry I am learning this reality more and more. I look out to a group of about 450 people a week and realize that there are some of them who have put up road-blocks, allowing no transformation to take place. Some people attend church services with their spouses, but have no desire to ever become a member of the church of the Bible. Some people have denominational backgrounds, and they refuse to leave the religion of their family. Some have been raised in the church, but they have decided for so many years not to obey the gospel that they will likely die outside of Christ. And even for those who are in the Lord's church, there are pieces of themselves and certain freedoms they enjoy that they have still held in reserve, not willing to give them over to the one who bled and died for them. Now - I have only listed some of the people who actually come to worship!

I am not cynical, mind you, but it does pay at times to be realistic. There is no heart so hard that it cannot be melted by the love of Christ and the true and powerful message of the gospel (Rom. 1:16). Realizing that you are more interested in the salvation of some people than they are themselves can help your ministry. If you are pressing too hard, this will tell you to back off. It will keep you at times from casting your pearls in the wrong places. It is also good to be reminded that you, yourself really have nothing to do with it. Every person will have to decide on their own how to live and where they want to spend eternity. Your job is just to try and aid them in the process of making the right decisions along the way.

The unreachable can be very frustrating to some Christians. I only say some Christians because a good number of Christians never try to be evangelistic. They think it is the preacher's job, or at least that evangelism is only for those who are naturally charismatic. They have never considered that maybe the people who are evangelistic have the same fears and concerns and limitations that they do, but that the only difference is that some Christians just love people too much to say or do nothing. For the Christian who doesn't want to bring people to Jesus, the unreachable people bring them comfort - somehow it doesn't make them feel so accountable or negligent. But this does not make their tree any less bare.

So why am I writing this article? And why is it going on the front page of the church bulletin? Here's why. Because I am not giving up. I am going to let the unreachable people remain unreachable only by their own choice - not mine. I will continue to preach the gospel so that I can potentially save myself and them. If they hate me for it, that is ok. If they disagree with what I teach, they have the right to do so. If they misunderstand me, I will try harder to be understood. If they need space, I will give it to them. But if at some point they crack the door of their heart in even the slightest sense to let the true gospel in, I plan to be standing there ready to fill the gap.

The only thing that was ever worth doing was the thing that they said couldn't be done. I have a plan. My plan is to reach the unreachable. Will you join me?

"Then Jesus said to His disciples, 'Assuredly, I say to you that it is hard for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven. And again I say to you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.' When His disciples heard it, they were greatly astonished, saying, 'Who then can be saved?' But Jesus looked at them and said to them, 'With men this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.'” ~ Matthew 19:23-26