Young Adults' Group

Reaching Out To Our Loved Ones

by Pastor Mark
December 17, 2020

The salvation of our older ones

Last Sunday, we held our first Baptismal Christmas Service, where we witnessed the baptism of some of our elderly brethren. Their baptism was a special moment for them as they identified with the Lord Jesus. These elderly brethren wrote testimonies that described how they came to know the Lord Jesus as their personal Saviour. Each of them had gone through so much in life. As they sought to set aside their former worship of idols, the Lord drew them to Himself in His special way.

The joy that we saw on their faces was priceless. As they had discovered salvation and the hope of eternal life, they sought to take this step of faith in being baptised. We rejoice with the family members who saw their prayers for their loved ones answered.

A time factor

The concern for our elderly to come to know the Lord is especially urgent as time is a factor. We recognise how short life is. Pastor Charles provided a realistic perspective of man from Ecclesiastes, “One generation passes away, and another generation comes.” (Eccl 1:4) Whether as individuals or as part of a generation, man will pass away all too soon.

I have seen this sombre reality as my first uncle and my dad passed away in a matter of two months. With only one uncle left, one generation of the family is slowly coming to an end. I thank God that my uncle and my dad are with the Lord. But many of this older generation are still outside of Christ. As they grow older each year, the window of opportunity for them to know the Lord is closing.

Reaching out to the elderly

I thank God for Bethany’s emphasis on reaching out to our elderly…to our loved ones who do not know the Lord. It is an emphasis that we must be greatly concerned about too. Many of us still have grandparents and parents who are still outside of Christ. Let us not wait till later and to try and reach out to them at their death bed. Through my dad’s sudden passing, what has become even more apparent to me is how death can come all too soon and most unexpectedly. While we are still able, let us do something about it. Let us seek to do our part this Christmas to reach out to our loved ones with the gospel.

The work of God

“Jesus answered and said to them, “This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He sent.”” (John 6:29)

While we seek to do our part in reaching out, we recognise that it involves the work of God in the lives of our loved ones. It is the work of God to bring about faith in them. God specially sent the Lord Jesus to call all to believe in Him…to have faith in Him. Let us look to God to do His work in the lives of our loved ones.

The challenge to reach out

How can we seek to do our part in reaching out? Let us pray for our loved ones to be open to hearing the gospel of Christ. Let us do our part in finding opportunities to share with them about the Lord Jesus and His salvation. We may need the help of others from church such as the pastors and fellow brethren to reach out to them. With faith, let us hope in God to do His work in bringing about faith in our loved ones.

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