Persuading…not coercing or manipulating
“Therefore, knowing the fear of the Lord, we persuade others……Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold the new has come. All this is from God, who through Christ was reconciling us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation.” – 2 Cor. 5: 11a, 17-18
Have you ever been persuaded to do something? Or maybe to buy something? Or maybe even to sign up for something??
I started my credit history this way. I was on a mission trip to Boston, which was one of my favorite cities in the country, but at a Red Sox game at Fenway park, I was for sure overwhelmed with where I was and all that I was experiencing. I remember walking through the concourse of Fenway and just marveling at the history and the structure of the ball field. I also remember how cold I was. I had just purchased a new hoodie thinking that might be warm enough for the night…I was wrong. So as I was walking around, I heard the question “Would you like a blanket?”
I stopped and looked at a table with a bunch of fleece Red Sox blankets. I wanted one. So I listened to this dude talk to me about getting this blanket and I found myself filling out a form to open my first ever credit card, to get a blanket for free! Great deal!! I know, I was young and vulnerable and cold and gullible. However, as I read the passage above that Paul wrote to the church in Corinth, I realized how easily I was persuaded to sign up for something that I didn’t want or need at the time, just for a blanket.
What if it was that easy to persuade someone to know and believe and follow Jesus?
We see it all the time in our worlds, people are persuaded to buy that item that is on sale for the next three and half minutes. We are persuaded to go to the place that has a deal on all of its meats in the market so we can get the best price for our favorite cut of beef. We are persuaded to believe someone is wrong to vote for someone else. We are persuaded to follow the crowd of whatever the new thing to ‘cancel’ is. We are persuaded by others to doubt ourself about what we believe. We are persuaded in all sorts of ways.
What if we were able to be persuaded by God every day of our lives?
Persuasion in this case is not making mention to someone tricking you into something, but really the complete opposite in persuading someone by the words you speak and the life you live to show Jesus’ love to those around you, to the point that those around you want to know who Jesus is because of the way you live your life.