When Push Comes to Shove

Remember the beautiful magnolia tree in the woods we rescued from the smothering vines and pine trees blocking life-giving sunlight? Our trailblazer was determined to take out the massive stump in front of the tree. His heavy equipment pulled up the stump, but its weight and the pushing back and forth loosed the spidery roots of the magnolia, as careful as he was. Now it’s in shock; many of its leaves have turned brown, and the flowers stopped blooming. Our heroic efforts to save the magnolia may have harmed the tree more than helped it. In like manner, we sometimes can be too pushy with people in our efforts for their best, and rather than help them, we shove too hard, and they fade or fall away.

“Knowing, therefore, the terror of the Lord, we persuade men. . .” (2 Cor 5:11a).

Jesus said no one could believe in Him unless the Father draws them (John 6:44)—God urges hearts to yield to Jesus by His Word and by what Jesus did for sinners. He wants the lost saved and believers rightly related with Him, but we can’t make them choose salvation, serve the Lord, or live righteously. We warn those without Christ of what awaits them; we urge fellow believers who strayed from God’s truths to repent, or consequences follow. But we should not do so with coercion or pressure. Jesus commands us to tell the Good News everywhere we go (Matt 28:19–20), but God does the wooing and saving.