On a Mission?

Charles Wesley posited four great statements about salvation, of which the most important is the first:

"All can be saved".

This is a great statement of hope, fundamental to the Christian Gospel. Never give up on anyone, be optimistic. Never fail to reach out, abandon no-one. We must remember this, or we are all lost.

However, dear old Charlie-boy, in his wonderful optimism, forgot to add an all-important rider, which we must also never forget. It is not as optimistic. I hate to say it is realistic, perhaps we can say it is non-idealistic, that will suffice. I posit this as statement 1A.

"Not all want to be saved".

You can't be saved if you don't want to be. Even when it seems logical from someone's state of mind/position that they should want to be saved, often they still don't.

We fail to recognise this at our peril.

(It is not an excuse for not trying; it is a reason to disengage on occasion, to keep oneself safe..)