Not sure about you, but it is becomingly increasingly clear to me that as a person gets older, it becomes harder to reach out to people around him. It’s not a matter of how old I am, but a matter of how old the people around me are.

I remember when I was in my secondary school, when I was full of fire and zeal for God (now more tampered, unfortunately), it was so easy to invite friends to church and to christian events. Speaking to them about God also came naturally and easily and they were generally more receptive and less hostile. It was fun and easy to evangelize then. Is this still the case for students?

But now as I try with the colleagues around me, more often than not, I’m met with a stone wall of discomfort and doubt. The mere mention of the word ‘religion’ is almost taboo in the workplace. Is it true for you too? Trying to invite them to church becomes an almost impossible feat and even broaching the subject is a huge challenge by itself. Above that, it appears that the older they are, the more hostile and less receptive they are. It seems almost like the years have slowly hardened their hearts more and more, which actually makes perfect sense.

The Bible says, ‘If you hear His voice, do not harden your hearts.’ Think you know that as one continues to harden his heart to anything, sooner or later the heart is going to be a concrete wall to that thing. Take any sin and you will understand what I mean. The first time you cheat, you feel very guilty. The second time, there is still guilt but slightly less than the first. As you continue to cheat, slowly these feelings of guilt no longer have any impact on you and you have grown cold in your heart. I believe that it is the same thing for non-Christians.

As they continually reject the voice of God, their hearts grow colder and more distant. As the years go by, layers and layers of obstacles get build up between them and God and so it gets harder to reach out to them. Could this be perhaps the reason why it is so much more difficult to reach out to adults than youth or children?

Whatever the case, I would strongly encourage all students to seize the opportunities they have to bring their friends to Christ. If my hypothesis is untrue, you have not lost anything but become more passionate for the lost. But if I’m right, then all the more, we should reach out to the people around us as passionately as we can, as it gets harder with each passing day.

What do you think? Do you agree?