Daily Devotionals

Truths to Live By - One Day at a Time

Devotional: November 7th

“Go home to thy friends, and tell them how great things the Lord hath done for thee, and hath had compassion on thee.” ( Mark 5:19)

When we are first saved, we think it is so simple, so wonderful that all our relatives will want to believe on the Savior when we tell them. Instead we find in some cases that they are resentful, suspicious and hostile. They act as if we had betrayed them. Finding ourselves in such an atmosphere, we often respond in ways that actually hinder their coming to Christ. Sometimes we lash back at them, then become distant, moody and withdrawn. Or we criticize them for their unChristian lifestyle, forgetting that they do not have the divine power necessary for meeting Christian standards. It is easy under such circumstances to give them the impression that we consider ourselves superior to them. Since they are likely to accuse us of a “holier than thou” attitude anyway, we should carefully avoid giving them just cause for doing so.

Another mistake we often make is to force the Gospel down their throats. In our love for them and our zeal for their souls, we estrange them by our offensive evangelism.

One thing leads to another. We fail to show loving submission to our parents, as if our Christian faith released us from any obligation to obey them. Then we increasingly absent ourselves from home, spending the time at church services and with Christians. This, in turn, increases their resentment against church and Christians. When Jesus healed the demoniac, Legion, He told him to go home and tell his friends what great things the Lord had done for him. That is the first thing we should do—give a simple, humble, loving testimony of our conversion.

Then this should be coupled with the witness of a changed life. We should let our light so shine before them that they will see our good works, and glorify our Father in heaven.

This will mean showing new honor, submission, love and respect for our parents, taking their advice unless it conflicts with Scripture. We should be more helpful at home than we have ever been before - cleaning our room, washing dishes, taking out the trash—and all this without being asked.

It will mean taking criticism patiently without retaliating. They will be pleasantly stunned by our spirit of brokenness, especially if they have never seen it before. Little kindnesses help break down opposition—letters of appreciation, greeting cards, phone calls and gifts. Instead of cutting ourselves off from our parents, we should spend time with them in an effort to strengthen relationships. Then they will be more likely to accept an invitation to attend church with us—and eventually to commit themselves to the Lord Jesus Christ.