Almost

Then Agrippa said to Paul, “You almost persuade me to become a Christian.” Acts 26:28

Have you thought about the ‘almosts’ in your life? The older I get, the more of them have slipped away from me, but fortunately most did not matter or make a difference, however, some were important opportunities missed that would never come my way again. Perhaps you have had a few ‘almosts’ in your own life?

Some of our ‘almost’ moments become regrets as we look back. That missed job opportunity. The time we could have stepped into a feud to pour oil on troubled waters, and we didn’t. The ‘almost’ of a lost proposal. Not going to see the doctor quickly enough to make a difference in the essential treatment which almost killed you. The almosts are endless, and we have all endured a few. Some known, many only known to ourselves.

However bad or serious these times have been, there is one ‘almost’ which brings greater  consequences, and sometimes we play it down, ignore it, or don’t think about warning others. In our text, Paul took the opportunity to tell King Agrippa, and although the ‘almost’ didn’t translate into a change of heart and mind, at that point Paul had done all he could. In fact he did the only thing we as Christians, are asked to do, and that is to tell others about the benefits of salvation when the right time presents itself. Ultimately the decision lies in the heart of the hearer, and the saddest words are ‘you almost persuade me to become a Christian’. Can I suggest an even sadder outcome for the Christian is when we don’t even bother to try for fear of failure or rejection? Yes, the stakes are high, and for eternity.

Persuasion

Then Agrippa said to Paul, “You almost persuade me to become a Christian.” Acts 26:28 (NKJV).

There are many sad verses in the Bible, and this is one of them. I still remember a searing sermon on this passage, preached by one of my early pastors, David J Tarrant. The message was not lost on me even as a young teenager. On another level, we all engage in some form of persuasion through our lives. As children, we need to be persuaded to eat our greens, and now as parents we try to pass the lesson on. Later on, we do our best to persuade an employer that we are the best person to fill that position. Then of course, we spend all sorts of time, effort and money to convince a very special person that they should feel right about spending the rest of their life with you. Probably the most important piece of persuasion you will do at a human level, and with the longest lasting consequences.

Of course, the spiritual parallel is that we should be doing our best in word, lifestyle, and action to persuade others that “Christ’s way is the best way”! We are not always successful, but take heart because there was no better speaker in his day than Paul himself, and even he failed to convince Agrippa. Or to be fair on Paul, he did all he could, but faced someone with a strong will and opinion of his own, and after hearing the words of Paul, still decided against becoming a Christian. It’s a prime example of free will in operation, and is still in use today. We are not responsible for someone else’s salvation, only for presenting the gospel in a persuasive way.

To me, that is not the sad part. It is not that Agrippa didn’t accept the persuasive argument put across by Paul, it’s the ‘almost’ word. Paul was so close, and Agrippa was so very near to a life changing decision. Who knows how the course of history could have been altered if Agrippa had said yes? In the end, Paul did what he could, and the king exercised his free will, and the rest, as they say, is history. So, don’t be put off by apparently not being able to get through to friends and family. You are doing your part, and they are exercising their God given (yes, God given) right to refuse, or at least delay that all important decision. We have no record that Agrippa ever had the opportunity to consider the question again, but while we can, we should keep trying.

Somehow I don’t think Paul would ever have given up on Agrippa, so we should not give up on our prayer burdens either. As Paul also put it in another epistle: Wherefore, my beloved, as ye have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling. Philippians 2:12 (KJV)