Evangelizing The Prodigal – Part 1
How should we go about evangelizing the prodigal in our family, whether they be our son or daughter, brother or sister? Although we must use the scriptures to share the gospel, Bobbi suggests the need to love unconditionally is also vitally important.
A Family Story
Let me tell you a story. It might make you sad, it might make you mad. But please, don’t listen just to react. Listen to learn. This is a true story, of a family I know well. A sad family.
For years, decades really, one particular Christian father has been evangelizing his son. That son is an adult now. His own children are grown and married. He and his wife are divorced, and he lives alone in a little farmhouse on a friend’s property.
Chats in a Booth
The son and his father live several hours apart. The father’s too frail to travel anymore, but the son visits the city when he can. As is their habit, when the son is in town, he picks up his father, and takes him out to share a meal. Smitty’s is their restaurant of choice.
The father is nearing 90, and his hearing is getting worse. Visiting in a booth in a quiet restaurant, where they can chat suits them both.
Father And Son
Let me tell you about the father. He found Jesus many years ago, when his son was still in his teens. Jesus transformed the father from someone who was lost and angry and hurting, to a person whose life had meaning and direction. That direction, his new focus, was to lead others to Christ.
Let me tell you about the son. His father’s sudden shift in worldview didn’t fit with anything the son knew or understood. Very quickly he realized he was on the outside – now labeled a sinner in contrast to his father’s state of salvation.
Further Afield
The son went off to university. Then he went further afield and began his own life where he found his own meaning. His own direction. Without God.
Over the ensuing years, the son married, had children, worked a number of jobs, did okay. His marriage failed, but his kids turned out well. All married now, with their own families, they’re good, solid citizens.
A Passion To Share The Gospel
The father’s life was a testimony of commitment. His passion was to share the gospel. His desire was for his son to be saved. Now, in his declining years, when he’s not thinking about God and the here-after, the father spends his time researching, and writing about salvation.
He documents segments from scripture that tell of the hopelessness of lost souls, of eternal torment for sinners of their great need for redemption, of the saving grace of Jesus, and of God’s perfect love for mankind!
Begging For Redemption
For years now, the father has begged Jesus to bring his son to redemption. It’s hard for him to believe that his son doesn’t share his great passion for the Lord.
Did I say the father is 90 now? He knows he won’t be around much longer. Time is short. His son is still unsaved.
Click here to read Part 2
Do you have a story about caring for someone? We would love to hear from you. Comment below or contact us at HopeStreamRadio.
Bobbi Junior
Jesus drew Bobbi Junior to himself in 1996, as she entered the darkest period of her adult life. He loved her through clinical depression, an accident that left her daughter a quadriplegic, and a difficult season of caring for her mother who suffered from dementia.
Bobbi said Jesus caught her and taught her and brought her through the darkness as only a Saviour could. She wrote and spoke on the value of suffering, lessons learned, and caregiving. Bobbi lived in Alberta, Canada with her husband and near her two adult children. Read her blog and download a chapter of her book, The Reluctant Caregiver at bobbijunior.com
Bobbi went home to be with the Lord November 30, 2020 and will be missed by her family, friends and followers.
Bobbi’s program, “Not Me Lord” airs on HopeStreamRadio.
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