To Live is Christ — speaking up

Most of my family are not Christians. I pray for them. A few have turned from sin to Christ, yet not many. I believe that God is able to draw people to Christ. He can enlighten hearts, create conviction of sin, and build a desire to be saved in the human heart.

Yet the process seems so slow. Is God not working as I pray? The following passage is about the promise of Christ’s return — which will end their opportunity to be saved. Jesus came the first time to bring salvation and invite sinners to repent. He will come the second time to judge the earth, and then it will be too late to accept His offer. 

The Lord isn’t slow about keeping his promises, as some people think he is. In fact, God is patient, because he wants everyone to turn from sin and no one to be lost. (2 Peter 3:9, CEV)

I do too. I’m eager for the return of Christ for my own sake, but for the sake of those on my prayer list, I am glad that God is slow in keeping this promise, even as I am perplexed about the slowness in His promise to answer prayers prayed in His will. After all, as this verse says, He wants everyone to be saved. Praying for that is His will.

In some translations, it says that He is “not wanting anyone to perish” yet this adds to my perplexity. If God wants all to be saved, why does He not do it?

One of my commentaries says that from the human perspective, there may never be a satisfying answer. This assumes that both are true: God can save anyone, yet people can also reject salvation. I understand the rejection part since I am also a sinner who resists God, but I cannot understand God not moving them from rejection to acceptance.

Some say there is a distinction between God’s will regarding “decree” and His will regarding “desire” as in this verse. God decrees things in view of human sinfulness. This allows people to reject salvation, although He also desires (because of His mercy) that all would repent and be saved. This implies that even God does not always get what He wants. I’m not sure I’m satisfied with that answer either.

My devotional reading offers a paraphrase of this verse. Instead of making it a puzzle, it puts the onus on me to do something. I know that “faith comes by hearing the word of God” (Romans 10:17) so while this paraphrase does not solve the riddle of what God is doing, it does give me a challenge. It says, 

The Lord isn’t slow about keeping His promises like a lot of people seem to think. What is really happening is that God is patiently allowing us to do one of two things before judgment day: 1) Turn to Him or 2) point others to Him.

The same passage that says “faith comes by hearing . . .” also says, 

How can people have faith in the Lord and ask him to save them, if they have never heard about him? And how can they hear, unless someone tells them? (Romans 10:14, CEV)

Instead of wondering why God is so slow, and why those on my prayer list seem so disinterested in spiritual things, God clearly says that His truth needs to be heard. A better question might be to ask myself why I am so silent.