Real Conversations: What About the Millions Who Grow Up Surrounded by Other Religions?
Don Barkley -
“Don, there’s something that bothers me about Christianity. Christianity doesn’t seem fair.”
“I’m glad you’re asking about it. Tell me more. What do you mean?”
“It’s this: What about the millions of people who grow up in countries steeped in other religions? If I’m born and raised in India, for instance, how likely is it that I’ll seriously consider anything other than the Hinduism I was raised in?”
“That’s a reasonable question. A couple of things come to mind that have helped me think about it.”
“Okay. Great.”
“The first is God’s love. If God exists, and he is the source of love itself, then his love is infinitely greater than ours. If we’re concerned about people, how much more is he? The Bible tells us that God desires all people to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth.”
“Okay.”
“And there’s another question worth asking: Is it reasonable to assume that if we don’t know how God can reach someone, then he doesn’t reach them?”
“Hmm. Say that again.”
“Just because we don’t know how God does something doesn’t mean he can’t do it, right?”
“Right.”
“We may not know how God gets the message of Christ to every person, but that doesn’t mean he can’t.
“Try this thought experiment. Is it possible that there’s someone in this city who doesn’t really know about Jesus and salvation? Maybe that person grew up without a Bible, never went to church, and has only a limited or distorted understanding of Christianity. Is that possible?”
“Yes.”
“Is it also possible that this person genuinely wants to know God and is seeking forgiveness?”
“Yes. I think that’s possible.”
“Do you think God knows about that person?”
“Yes, of course.”
“So, is it possible for God to get the truth about Jesus to that person?”
“Yes. He can do anything.”
“And do you think there are stories of that actually happening?”
“Yes.”
“Me too. Now change the setting from this city to a small town in India. Do you think there could be someone there who is seeking God?”
“Yes.”
“And do you think God is aware of that person’s search? Is it possible for God to reach that person with the good news of Jesus?”
“Yes.”
“That’s the point. Our inability to see how God might reach someone doesn’t limit God’s ability to do it.”
God Is Not Limited by Geography
Scripture gives us examples of God meeting people who are searching and then putting someone in their path who can help them understand the truth.
In Acts 8, an Ethiopian official is reading from Isaiah but doesn’t understand what he is reading. God directs Philip to meet him on the road, and Philip explains the passage and tells him the good news about Jesus.
That story gives us a picture of a God who sees the person who is searching and is fully capable of reaching them.
Acts 17 makes a similar point. Paul says that God determined where people would live so that they might seek him and perhaps reach out for him and find him, “though he is not far from any one of us.”
And 1 Timothy tells us something important about God’s heart: he “wants all people to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth.”
So when we think about people living in places where Christianity is unfamiliar—or where another religion has shaped the culture for generations—we should begin with what scripture tells us about God.
He loves people.
He knows where they are.
He knows what they are seeking.
And he is not limited in his ability to reach them.
We May Not Know How, but We Know Who
There are countless stories of Christianity taking root in cultures where it once had little presence. People raised in other religious traditions continue to encounter Jesus and put their faith in him.
We may not be able to explain exactly how God is working in every place or every person’s life. But we don’t have to understand every mechanism in order to trust his character.
For me, that is what helps answer the question.
I look first at the size of God’s love for people and then at his unlimited ability to communicate with them.
If God truly loves people more than we do, then we can trust that geography, culture, upbringing, and even our own inability to understand what he is doing do not place limits on him.
And that should do more than reassure us.
It should motivate us.
Because one of the ways God reaches people is through ordinary followers of Jesus who are willing to listen, love, speak, and go.
Scriptural Foundation
Acts 8:26–35
Philip is directed by God to meet an Ethiopian official who is reading from Isaiah but does not understand it. Philip joins him, listens to his question, and “beginning with this same scripture, Philip told him the good news about Jesus.”
Acts 17:26–27
“From one man he made all the nations, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and he marked out their appointed times in history and the boundaries of their lands. God did this so that they would seek him and perhaps reach out for him and find him, though he is not far from any one of us.”
1 Timothy 2:1–4
“I urge, then, first of all, that petitions, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for all people… This is good, and pleases God our Savior, who wants all people to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth.”
Prayer
Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, I worship you for the greatness of your love.
You are good, true, wise, righteous, present, and powerful. You are not far from any one of us.
I pray for people throughout the world who are seeking truth. Make yourself known to them. Bring people into their lives who will listen well, love genuinely, and share the good news of Jesus with humility and courage.
I pray especially for Christians living in places where following Jesus comes at great cost. Strengthen them, protect them, and use their faithful witness.
And prepare me to share Christ whenever and wherever you give me the opportunity.
I pray now for one person I know who does not yet know you: __________.
May they seek you and find you. May they encounter the truth of your word and come to understand the good news of Jesus.
Amen.
Don Barkley
Don Barkley is Emeritus Director of Staff Training at Search and over the last 40 years has led hundreds of discussions about God and life in homes, businesses, country clubs and colleges. With his wife Ann, Don enjoys visiting their kids and grandkids in all four time zones.
