The Highway Forums General Discussion Open Forum Dilemma

Your situation is unfortunate, but the situation that exists with your child(ren) is far worse since they are estranged from God due to their depravity of soul. Your need of loving your grandchildren by expressing to them in various ways the goodness, grace and mercy of God in Jesus Christ is what your child(ren) also need as you well know. There are myriad ways of bringing the Gospel to hopeless and helpless sinners. It doesn't necessarily have to be and usually isn't very prudent, to be blunt... i.e., insensitive to the fact that they are image bearers of God who still have feelings, etc. The Holy Spirit was well aware of situations such as yours and similar ones as well when he moved Peter to write:

Yes, yes... I know Peter is addressing women who are married to unbelieving husbands to whom they are to submit lovingly. But the principle is what should be grasped in this passage. These women who are mated to unbelievers are not to beat their unbelieving husbands over the head with the Bible but rather to remain silent and let the grace of God, the Spirit in them working to conform them to the image of Christ their Savior, show forth. Simply put, the way they act around and toward their unbelieving husband matters and does convey the truth that which you want to speak about is real... Look at my life and see for yourself.

This is NOT teaching that a virtuous life is a substitute for the spoken, or read Gospel. For that "is the power of God unto salvation" (Rom 1:16; 10:14-17). But a Christ-like life does speak volumes which people do see and it can be such a life that God uses to bring forth questions from those who are given to notice that you are so different.

We shall also be praying that God will move in the hearts of your child(ren) and also in the hearts of your grand children, all of whom need to be brought to Christ by a mighty and sovereign work of God's Spirit of grace.