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| NEVER ASSUME |
2 Corinthians 4:3-4, “But if our gospel be hid, it is hid to them that are lost: In whom the god of this world hath blinded the
minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto
them.”
I grew up thinking that my family had always served God. My parents are strong Christians who made sure we were in church
every time the doors were open. My brother and I grew up knowing Jesus and were saved at an early age. Then came a
recent funeral of an elderly relation with the discovery that most of the family had no Christian background.
A cousin began emailing the family after the funeral and upon discovering that I was in ministry, stated that it was "hard to
believe Jesus was the Son of God and that He wasn't any different from Buddha." Unfortunately, this cousin was only looking
for debate and argument, not information.
Upon discussion with my mother, I discovered a family background of Masonic lodges, knights and unbelief. That was just on
her side! Dad's side had no clue. What a shock!
Assumption is the lowest form of knowledge. When we assume others believe as we do, we do them a disservice.
While this particular cousin was looking to expound her own theories, the very real truth is that she is not saved and is on her
way to hell.
Now I assume in the other direction—that most of this family is not all saved after all.
When we assume, we lose an opportunity to minister to the lost. When we assume, we may even cause someone we love to
miss out. I think of my family members in a different light now and realize that it should have been obvious to me they had no
relationship with Jesus.
Assumption can blind you to very real needs.
Sometimes when we are in the Light so much we fail to see the real darkness around us. We become so accustomed to
walking by faith, we begin to assume others walk the same way we do. Just recently God began to show me the error of my
ways!
I had become so insulated in my walk that I could no longer see when someone else didn't have one.
While we don't want to get out of one ditch and crawl into another, we do need to be more aware of those around us. We
need to boldly check their stand with Jesus. We need to know their heart. That can't come about if we assume things.
People often try to be what you think they are. They act one way around you and another way away from you.
There has never been a better time to minister God's Good News to people. They are hungry and searching for real
supernatural help. By pointing them to CFAITH and other ministry related Web sites, they can discover a very real Jesus, real
faith, real help. By not assuming they know we can help them find answers.
I don't want one person going to hell because I assumed they knew The Answer. Do you?
Copyright © 2004 Nan C Loyd
Anointed Word Ministries
All rights reserved. Used by permission.
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