That is it! I am done!
Paul has been trying to preach Christ crucified and resurrected. The people are not accepting what he is saying. Matter of fact, they are being quite rude and cynical. Paul has come to the point where he is exhausted trying to appeal to their faith. He finally says I am done. No longer will I talk to you, but I will go to others who want to hear this message from God.
Can we relate to how Paul feels? I think so. Can you think of any family members where you were sharing the gospel message and they refuse to accept the message. Or worse, they insult you for your faith. It hurts. You feel insulted. You feel they have mistreated you for what you believe. How dare they! But we need to follow Paul’s example. He says alright, if you do not want to listen I will go to others who do want to listen.
This is important. We all must realize we were not sent into this world to save everyone. That was Jesus’ mission. We are to do the best we can with those in our life. If they do not want to accept the message then place them in God’s protective care and go on to others who want to hear God’s message.
Realize right now, you did not fail. Nor are they in danger of losing eternal life. No, God will provide what they need at the appropriate time. There may be someone He has in mind who will reach them. In the meantime, you are to reach out to someone He has in mind for you to talk to. Fretting over what you think is a lost opportunity is a waste of time. Move on! God has a plan for you and He needs you to be flexible and ready to go to others. Is not this exciting?! Who will you talk to today?
May the Lord bless you in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen