Being responsible for and being responsible to

You can't be around me long without hearing me say, "we are not responsible for people, but we are responsible to people."

I am not responsible for you (before God) but I am responsible to you.

My responsibility is to pray for you.  Talk to you about the things of God.  Ask that God send people into your life who would draw you closer to Him.  Be a good example.  Speak the truth in love.

But I am not responsible for you - you have to make your own choices.

Do you have that person in  your life that you desperately want to either accept Christ or draw closer to Him?  I do.  As a pastor, I have literally hundreds of people that fall into that category.

Here's what I know:  Only the Holy Spirit can change people.

Francis Chan writes:

"I cannot make someone fall in love with Jesus.

It really came home for me, literally, with my own teenage daughter, who, 18 months ago, was not in love with Jesus. I spent nights crying, bawling, praying to the Lord. Here I am known for my ability to communicate, but there was nothing I could do for my own daughter that would make her fall in love with Jesus. Of course I could still guide and lead her, but I was powerless to convict her.

I prayed, "God, either your Spirit comes into her or your Spirit doesn't. It doesn't matter how great a dad I am. I cannot bring her to life."

One day she came into my room and said, "You were right, Dad. The Holy Spirit was not in me. But now he is." She talked about how near she was to God and how everything had changed. My wife and I were skeptical. We wanted to see evidence of change. But 18 months later, I can say she really is a new creation. I didn't do that. It was the Holy Spirit."

"Holy Spirit we pray for friends and family that we prayerfully desire to draw closer to you.  Do your work oh, God, as only you can.  Lord, you know that we can only do so much - that the person(s) we are praying for need to make their own choices.  Help us to be wise with our words - and patient in our hearts.  Move, Holy Spirit, move.  In your name we pray, Amen."