Did I Fail the Person I Love?

Did I Fail the Person I Love?

There are few burdens heavier than wondering whether someone you love will ever come to faith in Jesus.

Perhaps it's a son or daughter. A spouse. A sibling. A lifelong friend.

You've prayed. You've shared your faith. You've invited them to church. You've tried to live as a faithful Christian before them.

And still...they don't believe.

If you're honest, you've probably wondered at some point, "Did I do something wrong? Did I fail them?"

Jesus speaks directly into that burden in the Parable of the Sower (Matthew 13:1–23).

Many of us instinctively focus on the different kinds of soil in the parable. We ask, "What kind of soil am I?" That's certainly a worthwhile question. But before we get there, notice why Jesus tells the parable.

By this point in Matthew's Gospel, Jesus has been preaching, teaching, healing the sick, and revealing Himself as the promised Messiah. Yet many people still reject Him. Even the perfect Savior—the perfect Preacher—is met with unbelief.

The parable is Jesus' reassurance that the rejection of God's Word does not mean the Sower has failed.

The Seed is good.

The Sower is faithful.

Yet people respond to His Word in different ways.

That truth also frees us from carrying a burden Christ never intended us to bear. Jesus has not called us to change another person's heart. He has called us to sow the Seed—to pray, to love, to speak the hope we have in Him, and to leave the results in His hands.

The good news is that Jesus has never stopped sowing.

He continues to scatter His Gospel generously, graciously, and indiscriminately. He continues to forgive sinners through His cross, give life through His resurrection, and create faith through His life-giving Word.

So if you're carrying the weight of someone else's unbelief, hear Christ's invitation today:

Keep praying.

Keep loving.

Keep sowing the Gospel.

And keep your eyes, not on the soil, but on the Sower.