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Hello,

Thanks for the excellent question.

As Christians, we ought to stay close to God and follow His guidance (see John 15). As we remain close to Him, He would fill us, and we would show His presence to those around us. That expression would be love toward others.

When Jesus said to make disciples of all nations (Matthew 28.19-20), it referred to loving people over time. It also reflects how our lives should be so attractive that others may want to follow us (Matthew 5.13-16). It was less about the traditional understanding of outreach of handing out fliers and grabbing people to speak about the Gospel.

So, to your question, is it futile to share the Gospel? Yes and no. I say yes because many people misunderstand the way we come to faith. I say no because God directs our hearts to share the Gospel, and when He is moving, we will see the results God intends.

Let me begin with the futility of our works. Many Christians (and some Christian leaders) follow the education of their upbringing and demand action from others. The effort would be to convert people to Christianity by telling them the Gospel and getting them to accept Jesus (this came in the forms of reading a special prayer or attending a revival service to come down to the front and receive a special prayer). While it has good intents and captures the modern business thinking of collecting data of "conversions," it made salvation systematic and dependent on our works.

When we read Ephesians 2.1-10, it is clear that the power of salvation comes from God alone. However, God generally uses us, his disciples, to share the Gospel and demonstrate the love of Christ when He brings people to Him. So, what is essential is that we remain close to Him and follow His lead to share the message of the Bible when He directs us. Doing it for work-sake will put the focus back on us as if we are the Savior and the one who should convince others to believe. We need to recognize that even our faith did not come from ourselves but God.

The question you need to ask is, do you want your family to be saved? Does that burn in your heart? Then God is directing you to pray and ask Him for guidance. This good yearning comes from God, and it is for us, His children, to go to God and ask Him to break through and guide you and your family through the faith process. When God gives you opportunities of your family's interest in coming to faith (compare to John 3, when a Jewish Rabbi came to Jesus because he was interested in believing in Him), prepare for it and ask God to enable you to speak with great power and love.

None of what you are doing is futile as long as you remain close to God. Let us turn to Him for the results, for He alone can save.

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