Lesson Two: Discernment
Devotion #3: Jesus’ Love Wins
Adeline Sanchez
A couple of the closest people in my life are not believers. For a long time, my friends, family, and I tried so hard to reach them with the Gospel, but were only met with constant rejection. After a while, it got to a point where our constant pushing of the Gospel only angered them and injured our relationship with them. I prayed a lot about what to do next. On one hand, I knew how much better their life would be with God in it; but on the other hand, continuing to try and push the Gospel on them was only going to hurt our relationship further and push them farther away from God.
The situation comes down to a matter of discernment. Matthew 7:6 says, “Do not give dogs what is holy, and do not throw your pearls before pigs, lest they trample them underfoot and turn to attack you.” In this passage, Jesus is using dogs and pigs as an example of those who reject and attack the Gospel. It is important for us to be able to discern the dogs, pigs, or those whose only goal is to attack the Gospel and continue on in their evil ways. The truth is, some people just are not ready to accept the Gospel, and we have to trust that God will reveal Himself to them in His own perfect timing. In 1 Corinthians 2:14, it says, “The natural person does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are folly to him, and he is not able to understand them because they are spiritually discerned.” We cannot expect those who are not spiritually discerned to see the value in the Gospel that we do.
God calls us to love, so I am not saying you have to cut off, abandon, or reject those who reject the Gospel. Matthew 5:16 says, “In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.” While we cannot conform with those of the world, we can and should love them. By living out the Word of God and showing others that, we are shining our light for everyone to see. John 1:5 adds, “The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.”