But You Were Not Willing

Matthew 23:37-39(NKJV)

37“O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the one who kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to her! How often I wanted to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing! 

38See! Your house is left to you desolate; 

39for I say to you, you shall see Me no more till you say, ‘Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!’”£

I wrote a piece called Let Them Alone! A couple of weeks ago and this verse just seems to reinforce that message.  It again shows Christ's method of outreach. 

The offer of salvation is there, free for anyone to take advantage of.  But as Jesus says in this passage, "but you were not willing".  In other words some rejected Jesus.  This is the part that I find interesting.  Does Jesus "stalk them" and keep evangelizing to them?  Nope.  As it says elsewhere, at the point that they reject Jesus it is not a c'est la vie moment, they have CHOSEN to become an enemy of God. 

Look at verse 38.  "Your house is left to you desolate".  Again not a live and let live moment.  Jesus specifically uses the word desolate.  Take a look at the meaning.

des·o·late

1. barren or laid waste; devastated: a treeless, desolate landscape.
2. deprived or destitute of inhabitants; deserted; uninhabited.
3. solitary; lonely: a desolate place.
4. having the feeling of being abandoned by friends or by hope; forlorn.
5. dreary; dismal; gloomy: desolate prospects.

Pasted from <http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/Desolate>

Now is someone who has rejected Jesus an enemy of God forever?  Nope.  Who decides.  The person that rejected Jesus gets to decide.  They are free to seek Jesus anytime that they want.  The only catch is that once they reject Jesus, He says in verse 39 that the only way He will take them back is if they come to Him from the start admitting that Jesus is who He says He is". 

So where does that leave us in our mission to spread the news about Jesus.  I'd say share your faith with all that you have the opportunity to but if they choose not to embrace Jesus move on, you've done your job.  They have made their choice.  Jesus is willing to respect their choice (that whole free will thing) let them suffer the consequences of their choice so I think that is the example that we should follow.