Welcome,
Unbelieving Family, help?
Sun, 06/26/2011 - 22:23
I haven’t been saved for that long and I’m discovering all kinds of new issues I never even thought about before. This particular issue I like to think of as the elephant in the room. How do I deal with the issue of unbelieving family members?
We sit around the living room discussing temporary worldly things that don’t really matter and I just feel like I’m going to implode thinking ‘where are you going to spend eternity?!’ Whenever I try to direct the conversation to God or Jesus my family just immediately dismiss the thought and bring up another distraction in life to talk about and I’m finding the elephant in the room really difficult to ignore. I don’t understand why God’s chosen to reveal himself to me but not my family. I love my family so much and I just can’t see how I would be happy in heaven knowing my family members are in hell, its as if the devil is trying to get to me through my family.
How do I get them to acknowledge and address the elephant in the room? (It might as well be the family pet!) How do I show them the light I have received? I can’t be the only Christian with this problem, so if anyone has any advise I would be so grateful to hear it. Please help?
Thanks,
Laura
Mon, 06/27/2011 - 12:02
#2
Laura, Ditto the previous
Laura,
Ditto the previous comments. "no man can come to me, except the Father in heaven draws him," tells us this is a spiritual thing. 1 Peter speaks of wive's winning their husbands to the Lord with their example. You also have another concern...
"I just can’t see how I would be happy in heaven knowing my family members are in hell"
That is a great question! In eternity, how can any of us be happy while knowing in our hearts that family members are currently suffering indescribable torments for eternity? How could we as a family get together to celebrate anything and look at the "empty chair" so-to-speak? How do we answer for that?
Tim
Mon, 06/27/2011 - 11:21
#3
RE:Unbelieving Family, help?
You cannot Bible Bash your family into wanting to hear and understand the Gospel.
It is a spiritual battle. The first step as twoods09 has already recommended is prayer.
The second is to pray that Jesus will change you from the inside to be more and more like Him until like Moses who spent time up with God on the Mountain he came down and GLOWED so much that the people of Israel asked Moses to wear a viel they couldn't stand God's glory that was in his face.
So spend time reading God's Word and pray that it will change YOU! Pray that you would be a witness, salt and light to your family. Pray God would give your family spiritual eyes & ears to be able to see and hear His Truth.
My family are affected by my daily life. I get called Miss Goody Two Shoes. They even correct their own behaviour when I am around, like they say "I know what you are about to say that God doesn't like it when I do this!". My very presence challenges them I rarely have to say anything (after 30 years as a Christian that is a good thing because it means I have been living Jesus or the Bible before them). I can also say 3 of my family have also come to Christ.
It is not your job to convert your family. It is only your responsibility to live as a good servant of God.
Mon, 06/27/2011 - 03:54
#4
Hi Laura
Prayer is your greatest weapon right now, but also how you live. Seek God with all your heart and be a reflection of He who lives inside you. Perhaps they will see how your life has changed and how you have the joy of the Lord and will begin to want what you have. I believe that it is good that you are trying to talk about Jesus around them. Keep it up, but remember that your greatest testimony will be how you live. How you live will open up the opportunities to share your faith with them. Blessings my sister!
Your brother in Christ!
Trevor
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Thanks for the advise, I am going to be praying a lot, and trying to learn and get as close to God as I can. This way my family might notice the light shining within me and ask me about it and when they do I'll have enough knowledge to inform them about Jesus.
I'm going to keep trying and praying, while theres still time for them to know Jesus, and hopefully it won't come to me being in heaven knowing my family members aren't.