We all have unbelieving family and friends, and as this year wraps up and we gather around family and friends, for many, this is yet another year passing without them knowing Christ.
So this month, I’m writing a little differently than my usual style of writing. It’s a heartfelt letter to the unbelievers in my life. If this resonates with you as you gather around unbelieving family and friends, I pray that it will encourage you to pray for them more.
So here it is, a letter to the unbelievers in our lives…
Dear friend,
Will your eyes ever be opened to see?
My heart aches for your soul as I hear you speak of eternity with a sense of casualty, as though you believe it lacks relevance for the present.
I wonder if you read that Bible I gave you or if it merely collects dust on your bookshelf. I pray for the former.
I wish Romans 5:8 would penetrate your heart.
I wonder if you have been chosen to know the Lord, I pray that you have been.
You thirst deeply for hope, yet you forfeit living water to remain parched by what this world offers. I am saddened by the realization that you have never known what hope is.
You claim to be “good enough” to get to heaven. I pray you would understand that “none is righteous, no, not one; no one understands; no one seeks for God. All have turned aside; together, they have become worthless; no one does good, not even one” (Romans 3:10-12).
It brings tears to my eyes hearing you attempt to fill the void of true joy with the fleeting pursuit of happiness, chasing things that will never truly satisfy.
I pray you would know that Christ “was pierced for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his wounds, we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned—everyone—to his own way;
and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all (Isaiah 53:5-6).
A glimpse of hope arises as I hear you speak of a desire for more for your life, a desire to uncover a greater purpose to life, giving me a window to share the gospel. Yet, I watch this window close as you quickly change the topic and suppress that desire. So I pray for that window to open once more.
I wish my words would penetrate your heart so that you may know the truth, but I know that your eyes haven’t been opened to understand. So I pray more for them to open.
I pray that I live a life worthy of my calling, reflecting Christ to you. So I pray that when you see me, you increasingly see more of Christ and less of the world.
I share the gospel with you again, and I wonder, should I have said more? Did I say too much? I reassure myself I did not say too much; the best gift I can ever give you is the gospel.
“For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith for faith, as it is written, “The righteous shall live by faith” (Romans 1:16-17).
You passionately strive for worldly pursuits, and I envision how passionately you would serve the Lord if you came to know Him.
If only you knew the Lord, you would be awestruck by who he is. You would see that his righteousness and holiness are beyond compare. If only your eyes could see how he is so “gracious and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love” (Psalm 145:8). There is none like him.
How long will your heart remain hardened? How long will you reject the one who formed you in your mother’s womb?
I cry because yet another year has passed without you knowing Him.
I pray that my heart will never give up hope for your salvation but rather be burdened to pray for you more and more every day.
As long as I have breath, I will never stop praying for your eyes to be opened.
-Preethi
