In saying my prayers tonight, I had a huge revelation.
I often pray for my loved ones who are not Christians, "please let them come to know You before it's too late."
Honestly, I don't even know what that would look like for some of them. It seems so far from the inborn personalities that they've had as long as I've known them. But I remember that God's vision is bigger and their personalities would not necessarily have to change.
But tonight God showed me the JOY that these non Christian loved ones are missing out on. Forget the fear of them spending eternity from God and me not seeing them again. There is so much theological debate in my mind for what that actually means. That would be terrible. My worst nightmare. But they're missing out on joy NOW!
Matthew 20:1-16 tells a parable about workers. Those who work all day get paid the same as those who work for an hour at the end of the day. The metaphor is clear: those who spend their whole lives serving God and those who come to belief in the last moments of their lives receive the same reward. Well, they receive the same eternal reward. But they miss out on working for their master for their whole lives. They miss the joy in the trials. I want that for my loved ones, too.
So tonight, instead of praying only "that they will come to know You before it's too late", I pray that "they will come to know the JOY that comes from knowing You here on earth."
