Tuesday, October 25, 2011

Our Lost Loves (2 Thess. 1:9-10)

These will pay the penalty of eternal destruction, away from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of His power, when He comes to be glorified in His saints on that day, and to be marveled at among all who have believed—for our testimony to you was believed.
(2 Thessalonians 1:9-10, NASB)

Each of us who follow Jesus Christ has someone very special in her life who doesn’t yet know the Lord. In my case, the most important is my husband. And when I read verses like this, my heart breaks for him.

For you, it may also be a spouse. Or a child. Or a parent. Or a sibling. Or a best friend. If our special people continue to refuse to give their lives to the Lord, they “will pay the penalty of eternal destruction, away from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of His power.”

Heartbreaking.

I’m sure you, as I do, sometimes get discouraged. When will they find the truth, we ask ourselves. We pray every for them every day. We keep the lines of communication open.

And we cling to verses like 2 Peter 3:9, reminding ourselves that God is “not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance.” Or like Matthew 18:14, “Even so it is not the will of your Father who is in heaven that one of these little ones should perish.” Or even Ezekiel 33:11: “Say to them: ‘As I live,’ says the Lord GOD, ‘I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but that the wicked turn from his way and live.’” (All verses are from NKJV.)

And above all, we can be assured that God loves our loved ones more than we ever could.

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