"Re-reaching" the Unready: Why Now May be the Time

We’ve all had more time to think and reflect in the midst of this pandemic, and recently, I began to think of those who have not trusted in Christ; specifically, how they are not all created equal.

Allow me to explain.

Over the years I have met several people who have heard the clear presentation of the gospel and have decided (some quite blatantly) that they have no interest in it – they simply reject it. However, there are others who hear the gospel, and while they don’t flat out reject it, they have a “not now” response. Both of these groups are without Christ and both are in desperate need of the saving grace that is only found in His tremendous once-for-all sacrifice.

While both groups are in need of our prayer, love and attention, it’s this latter group that I want to focus on for the purpose of this blog. You see, I realized that often times, the “not now” group ends up taking that route because even though the gospel makes perfect sense to them, they don’t quite see the need of a Savior in the midst of a life where everything is going pretty well.

I think we can all agree that for many, things are no longer going pretty well. As believers, I think we can also agree that God never wastes our times of trial. He’s always at work in the midst of them.

For this “not now” group, the world of comfort, normalcy, and relative ease has been replaced with a world of uncertainty, disruption, and an unknown path forward. In essence, the curtain has been pulled back on the reality of what the world really has to offer: things that Solomon, in his wisdom compare to “chasing after the wind” (Ecclesiastes 2:11).

Shaken from the comfort of an illusion, those who proclaimed “not now” even a few weeks ago may be more ready than ever to hear the truth and certainty of salvation in Christ alone. What an opportune time remind them that the opportunity has not passed, but is open to them even now – to remind them of Paul’s emphatic message in the second letter to the Corinthians:

“I tell you, now is the time of God's favor, now is the day of salvation.” – 2 Corinthians 6:2b.

Do you know someone that was in the “not now” group before the beginning of the pandemic? Open to the gospel, but just not convinced that the time was right to respond? Perhaps that friend, acquaintance or loved one you have been longing to see come to Christ has been awakened to awareness of their need for the Savior. Perhaps they have moved from not-now to now-is-the-time.

What a great to reach out, reconnect and begin a journey that leads back to the heart of the gospel. After all, today is the day of salvation.