No Prisoners
February 11
No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him…
John 6:44
Mark was sorting through the doubt and confusion, and explaining, as best he could, to his Sophomore Science teacher, Phil Grant, how God expected too much. “Why’s this so hard?” Mark waited a moment for Mr. Grant to answer. With no answer forthcoming, he continued, “If God would just give me a sign or something it would make this a lot easier. Then I’d know for sure.” He sounded less than confident.
Phil sensed the pent-up frustration in Mark’s heart. Mark was just like most skeptics…he wanted empirical proof of God’s existence before choosing to follow Him. Mark didn’t want to take this last step in faith. He wanted to know God would be there to catch him when he jumped!
Sensing an opportunity, Phil offered, “God doesn’t take prisoners, Mark. He’s not interested in holding you hostage. He wants you to come of your own free will because He knows it won’t work any other way.”
“That’s the problem…” Mark voiced.
Taking a chance, Phil interjected, “Would you believe conclusively if God spoke to you audibly so you could bypass the whole faith thing? Or would you, in a day or two, begin to doubt you’d heard His voice at all?”
Mark had to admit he wasn’t sure. He thought it would make all the difference…but...he didn’t know.
“Mark…God will move heaven and earth to draw you to a place of trust and surrender, but He won’t choose for you. He loves you too much to do that.” He could sense Mark was close to a choice, and he figured he’d said enough. The rest was up to Mark.
†
God is not interested in strong-arming people into becoming followers; nor will His nature allow it. Love does not coerce what it treasures. It creates an atmosphere in which the intended purpose can be achieved, leaving the results to the treasured ones.
And, although God refuses to force His love on us, He will draw us right up to a crisis of faith, and patiently wait for us to make a decision.
Time after time, God speaks into the stillness, quietly wooing us, because He will not take prisoners.
Prayer
“I surrender my heart in faith to You, LORD. Teach me to trust without empirical proof. Amen.”
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