Desperation vs Determination.

This morning I was watching tv and heard "Jesus never helped anyone that didn't ask for it"...what? He didn't? He didn't exhaust himself over those who he knew had great potential and were throwing it away in one way or another? He didn't beg people, saying "Jesus loves you! Please come to church!" He didn't talk and talk and talk and talk, throwing in crying every now and then, trying to guilt them into becoming a Christian? What?

I've known this, yet today I received just a little more clarity about it. The picture that I just wrote about, can't you just see Jesus shaking his head at us as we try and do that very thing with the people around us? Can't you see Him saying, "um, did I do that? If I didn't do that then why are you?" Why are we? Because we operate out of desperation, he operated out of determination.

Jesus was determined to make the most out of his short time on this earth. He was determined to help those who wanted it and he knew there was a lot of them! If he spent his time on the ones that didn't, a whole lot of people would lose out! A whole lot of time would be lost!

Yet, I do this. I seem to attract VERY broken men, different kinds of broken, but very broken still. And the center of that brokenness, they don't seek after God with their WHOLE heart. So what do I do? Spend LOTS of energy trying to change that, trying to "help" them. After all, maybe that's why God brought them into my life!! Or, maybe, just maybe, it's Satan's way of keeping my wheels spinning in one place because if I am let loose and actually spend time on the people that WANT Christ to be their center, GASP, then what?! Shiny objects can be so distracting.

Don't get me wrong, I will still talk with everyone I meet about God and why He should be their center. And I'll still continue to attract VERY broken men (I highlight very because we're all broken to some degree), but the difference now is I'm done wasting energy where it's not productive. I'm done being desperate for you to "please love god". Instead I shall be determined, be ready, to come alongside those that want it and pray for those that don't and trust God to help me see the difference.

And just so we're clear...You should love God, you should go to church, you should have Christ be your center. I'm not giving up on you, Jesus didn't give up on you (he died for ALL mankind), I'm just merely shifting my focus.