Raj - Small Steps

When it comes to each witnessing conversation, how do we define success?  I spoke to a graduate student from India named Raj, who grew up in a Hindu family but now says he doesn’t believe in God.  Here we have someone from an entirely different world view – Hinduism - , who hasn’t ever heard the biblical Gospel, and who says he doesn’t believe in God or an afterlife because he wants to make the most of his limited time on earth right now, feeling that thoughts of another life to come would make him lose his ambition and motivation in the here and now.  Of course I believe God can change anyone’s heart no matter how far they seem from faith, but I also know that God often works in a series of smaller steps, and we can find success in being a part of one or more of those steps along the way.  For Raj, one step I felt I could help him with was to clarify his real reason for rejecting belief in God.  He might think his reasoning is logical, but later comments revealed that in reality it boils down to simple pride – he wants to live his life his way, without being accountable to a higher power.  So one step we can help people with is to help clear up any self-delusions or excuses they might have.  Another step we might help people with is to help them think about the fact if God exists, they will one day be accountable to Him.  I had in no way proven God’s existence to Raj, but we did talk about that possibility and the fact that the Bible teaches that we will be held accountable to Him.  A biblical rule of thumb for witnessing is “law to the proud, grace to the humble”.  As we talked about God’s laws, Raj showed no signs of humility.  I did share some of the good news of God’s grace, especially since he had a friend listening in on the conversation, but God’s provision of forgiveness in Christ made little difference to Raj because he wasn’t humble enough to see his need for forgiveness.  I could have left the conversation feeling defeated and frustrated, but I rejoice in just being a part of the small steps God is accomplishing in Raj.  When it comes down to it, the success in being a “fisher of men” is simply getting your nets in the water.  We can trust God to do the rest!