I had a job washing cars at a Ford dealership when I was 18. One day my dad, who was a salesman, came back to the wash bay and with a sense of urgency told us to go get the red Taurus off the lot and make it sparkle. He had a potential buyer up front who wanted a new Taurus but her only stipulation was that she absolutely refused to buy a red car. Unfortunately for us, it was the last one we had in stock. But a true salesman doesn’t give up that easy.
We gave that car the best polish we could. We made it shine. He brought her back into the wash area and immediately she stomped her foot and said defiantly, “I told you I wasn’t going to buy a red car!”
“That’s not red,” he told her, ” It’s cranberry!”
She paused for a moment, then responded with a tinge of interest in her voice, “Ooh, well I guess that’s not so bad.”
She bought the car!
How many of us have sworn that we would never do, say, believe a certain thing, act a certain way, etc., only to find that that very thing was actually quite appealing when viewed from a different perspective?
When I was young, I swore I would never be in construction. Guess what I did for 15 years? I built houses and I loved it.
I swore I would never marry a Finnish girl. My wife is 100% Finn, and I couldn’t imagine myself being happier with anyone else in the world.
I lived in rebellion against God and swore off everything about Christianity. Now I am a committed, sold out, fired up believer in the very thing I once rejected.
Why? Because my perspective was wrong. The things I thought about God proved to be untrue.
When I was shown how I misunderstood what the gospel was all about, then Jesus Christ became more appealing than anything else this world can offer. I wasn’t tricked by a sly sales technique, I was convinced by the truth of His word, by the proof of His love, and by the power of the Holy Spirit, among other things.
The point is, just because you or someone you know is vehemently opposed to a thing today does not guarantee that it won’t change at some point.
Don’t give up sharing your faith or praying for praying for those people who might seem so hardened against God. Their life could turn on a dime at any time. Mine did.
God bless you today