Of course it would be good for someone to know Christ, to love Him, and to desire with all one's heart to imitate Him to the very end. But it is not good for *me* to look at someone as though he or she is a "fixer-upper" project, like "this house would be perfect if I remodeled the kitchen and enclosed …
Of course it would be good for someone to know Christ, to love Him, and to desire with all one's heart to imitate Him to the very end. But it is not good for *me* to look at someone as though he or she is a "fixer-upper" project, like "this house would be perfect if I remodeled the kitchen and enclosed the porch to make a sunroom" (let's imagine it's a prospective marriage instead of a prospective friendship: This will be a perfect husband if I can only get him to stop smoking, drinking, playing pool with his friends, and if he would be a little more ambitious in his job and make a slightly higher salary; then he will be exactly what *I* want him to be, and of course, this also will be good for him.)
With all due respect, those aren't good analogies. If we encounter someone who does not know and love Our Lord, we should do everything in our power to bring this person to Christ. It should be our primary focus. This isn't trying to "fix" someone or "change" them for my own benefit. It's ultimately for the salvation of their soul. We abandon the Gospel if we do not make this our primary goal in relationships with others.
It seems that in your eyes I have many times abandoned the Gospel. You are not wrong in assessing that I am a worthless servant. God Himself knows how often I have betrayed him. Nevertheless I appreciate your effort (having encountered me here) to bring me to Christ and I hope you will pray for me; since God does desire all of us to be saved, I am sure your prayer will be heard.
> I do not understand this mindset.
Of course it would be good for someone to know Christ, to love Him, and to desire with all one's heart to imitate Him to the very end. But it is not good for *me* to look at someone as though he or she is a "fixer-upper" project, like "this house would be perfect if I remodeled the kitchen and enclosed the porch to make a sunroom" (let's imagine it's a prospective marriage instead of a prospective friendship: This will be a perfect husband if I can only get him to stop smoking, drinking, playing pool with his friends, and if he would be a little more ambitious in his job and make a slightly higher salary; then he will be exactly what *I* want him to be, and of course, this also will be good for him.)
With all due respect, those aren't good analogies. If we encounter someone who does not know and love Our Lord, we should do everything in our power to bring this person to Christ. It should be our primary focus. This isn't trying to "fix" someone or "change" them for my own benefit. It's ultimately for the salvation of their soul. We abandon the Gospel if we do not make this our primary goal in relationships with others.
It seems that in your eyes I have many times abandoned the Gospel. You are not wrong in assessing that I am a worthless servant. God Himself knows how often I have betrayed him. Nevertheless I appreciate your effort (having encountered me here) to bring me to Christ and I hope you will pray for me; since God does desire all of us to be saved, I am sure your prayer will be heard.