The One Left Behind
“You have heard it said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I say to you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you” (Matthew 5:43-4).
Sometimes, the one who pushes you away with the most force is the one who needs you the most. When we’re dealing with people who despise us for loving Jesus, it’s hard to imagine that the Lord wants anything to do with such people. They hate Christians, and they’re repulsed by the Word of God, and yet, the Father points at them and says, “I want you to love them.” We might be tempted to ask, “Are you sure?” But God turns no one away, and it’s not His will that any should be left behind.
Perhaps Paul is one of the greatest examples of someone who was wholeheartedly against God. Paul admits that he is the chief among sinners (1 Timothy 1:15), referring to when he had pursued Christians ruthlessly, turning in and killing hundreds of people who believed in Jesus. Paul pushed against God, but God pursued him nonetheless, and out of all the evangelists and disciples of the early church, no one fought harder to win lost souls to Christ than Paul.
The one who pushes away the most is often the one who God wants you to pursue. There’s a reason why they fight so hard against you—the enemy doesn’t want to let them loose. Satan keeps a tight grip on them, and there’s so much hell inside them that it makes them rotten. It makes them cringe and sneer at you because the Spirit in you makes the hell in them tremble. Paul became the greatest evangelist the world ever knew, because once he tasted God’s freedom, there was no going back. He was willing to serve the Lord even if it cost him everything.
When someone has lived in darkness their whole life and suddenly, they see how beautiful the mercy of God is, the enemy is shaken because that person will do whatever it takes to save those who are still stuck in darkness. One of your enemies could be a Paul. Perhaps they just need someone to love them that much. Be the one who refuses to leave them behind.
Keep pursuing them. Keep loving them. You never know what kind of influence they’ll have in the kingdom of God.
Sometimes, the one who pushes you away with the most force is the one who needs you the most. When we’re dealing with people who despise us for loving Jesus, it’s hard to imagine that the Lord wants anything to do with such people. They hate Christians, and they’re repulsed by the Word of God, and yet, the Father points at them and says, “I want you to love them.” We might be tempted to ask, “Are you sure?” But God turns no one away, and it’s not His will that any should be left behind.
Perhaps Paul is one of the greatest examples of someone who was wholeheartedly against God. Paul admits that he is the chief among sinners (1 Timothy 1:15), referring to when he had pursued Christians ruthlessly, turning in and killing hundreds of people who believed in Jesus. Paul pushed against God, but God pursued him nonetheless, and out of all the evangelists and disciples of the early church, no one fought harder to win lost souls to Christ than Paul.
The one who pushes away the most is often the one who God wants you to pursue. There’s a reason why they fight so hard against you—the enemy doesn’t want to let them loose. Satan keeps a tight grip on them, and there’s so much hell inside them that it makes them rotten. It makes them cringe and sneer at you because the Spirit in you makes the hell in them tremble. Paul became the greatest evangelist the world ever knew, because once he tasted God’s freedom, there was no going back. He was willing to serve the Lord even if it cost him everything.
When someone has lived in darkness their whole life and suddenly, they see how beautiful the mercy of God is, the enemy is shaken because that person will do whatever it takes to save those who are still stuck in darkness. One of your enemies could be a Paul. Perhaps they just need someone to love them that much. Be the one who refuses to leave them behind.
Keep pursuing them. Keep loving them. You never know what kind of influence they’ll have in the kingdom of God.
Free Email Devotional - Sign Up Now
Recent
Archive
2026
January
When Prayer Feels Like Bad ReceptionTeach Us to Pray AgainRelationship Over RequestsPulled Toward HeavenWhen God Says No, Slow, Grow, or GoPray Bigger PrayersPray Without Ceasing in Real LifeWhen Persistence Feels PointlessWhen Darkness Reacts to LightWorship as WarfareChains Fall in His PresenceNot Who I Used to BeWhen God Reveals the BattleNo Fear in the Presence of PowerSet Free to WorshipVictory Is NowWhat You Love, You ShareGod Has a Brag Book, and You’re in ItThe Moment You Missed and the Mercy That RemainsBetter Today Than YesterdayAvailability Over AbilityThe Search for SignificanceWhen God Sets Up the MomentExplain the Hope Within YouThe Gospel Starts Where People AreSalt Has to Leave the ShakerWhat Defines You Determines YouYou’re Richer Than You RealizeThe Quiet Sin No One ConfessesYou Can’t Serve Two MastersThe Token That Stopped Spending
February
A Prophetic EarLearning the Voice You Hear Every DayAdopted, Not ToleratedThe Same Spirit Lives in YouWhy Jesus Chose DependenceExisting Versus Truly LivingWhen God Interrupts Your RoutineConviction Calls You Up, Not OutHe Who Gets the Son Gets It AllLet the Word Get in YouThe Book You Never FinishWhen You Finally Taste What’s BetterGod Is Speaking Every Time You Open the BibleFreedom Comes from Knowing the TruthThe Holy Spirit Works with What You StoreYou Might Be the Only Bible They ReadThe Word You Read Today Might Be for Someone Else TomorrowA Love Letter, Not a Rule BookFaith That Moves Without ProofWhen Desperation Strips Away DignityTrusting God in the SmokeThe Miracle Was Not Just for YouWhen Familiarity Kills ExpectationThe Timing of God Is Never AccidentalA Savior Who Shows Up to Ordinary MomentsWhen the Wine Runs OutTake It to Jesus FirstDo Whatever He Tells You to Do
2025
January
Why Me?Ordinary but ChosenYour Past Prepares You for God's FutureWhy Not Me?The Burden of PreparationIt’s Bigger Than YouJust Show UpAnchored in PrayerBreakthrough Was Always God's PlanWaiting on Your BreakthroughTransformative Power of PrayerThe Art of PrayerThe God of BreakthroughKryptoniteLifelineThe Dare of DependenceWho Needs Your Prayers?Soaring in PrayerObedience Through PrayerThe Power of Prayer in Overcoming TemptationIs Your Heart Prepared for God's Mighty Work?The Joy of SimplicityPatient in Affliction, Faithful in PrayerBurning PrayersWhile You Wait...He WorksChoosing His Will with Free WillEquipped for Victory: Overcoming Sin from WithinEverydayThe Great I AMSaying Yes to GodOrdinary People, Extraordinary God
No Comments