Just not too long ago, I wrote about someone whom we cared about who died suddenly at a young age. She had heard the gospel numerous times but she did not, as far as we knew, make a decision to receive Christ. Perhaps during the last minutes of her life, she asked Jesus for salvation. It was possible but we could not be sure.

This incident added urgency to our prayers for the salvation of our loved ones during a recent church prayer meeting. A sister in the Lord shared about her ailing father. Someone who was sitting beside her that evening nudged her, asking her not to delay any further in bringing the gospel to her father.

The next morning, this sister called me to visit her father after struggling through the night about whether or not to visit her father. She was not very hopeful that her father would be willing to hear the gospel as he had resisted it for several decades despite her brother faithfully trying to persuade their father to believe in Jesus. Furthermore, her siblings were not receptive to the gospel.

When we saw her father, he was semi-conscious. He could not talk. I told him the gospel, repeating it several times and urged him to ask Jesus to save Him. I told him that Jesus would give him eternal life, heaven and a resurrection with a new body free from sufferings. I urge him to tighten his grip on hand to indicate that he wished to believe in Jesus. He did not respond. After a little while, he felt drowsy and went back to sleep. For the next half an hour or so, we shared the gospel with her mother in the living room.

In the midst of the sharing, her father suddenly let out two very loud coughs. We rushed into the room to see him. He was alright and conscious. Without high hopes, I told him the gospel again. Then the sister and her mother suggested that I asked him to blink his eyes if he wished to believe in Jesus. That was what the family would tell the father to do if they needed him to make a decision on some family matters. This required the father to make special effort but it was easier than asking him to grip my hand. I asked him if he wished to believe in Jesus. He blinked. Then tears rolled down. The mother alerted us, saying that he shed tears only when he was moved. To be certain, we asked him to blink again. He did it another three more times. Then he squinted his eyes and maintained that position for several seconds. I thought he was trying to tell us that he did blink his eyes. I also felt him gripping my fingers very tightly so much so that I had to use my other hand to loosen his grip. I told him the gospel again before I led him in prayer to receive Jesus as Saviour. We, especially the sister and later her brother, were overjoyed. A few days later, the Lord called our beloved brother home to glory.

This incident reminds us of several things. First, our Lord indeed is kind and merciful. Our brother was hostile towards the gospel for many years. Yet, the Lord did not give up on him but softened his heart that he might receive the Lord just before he died.

Second, we sometimes underestimate the power of the gospel and God. We were not hopeful as we felt that his heart was a hard ground. But “the gospel is the power of God that brings salvation to everyone who believes” (Rom 1:16). It is up to God to save a person as He is the only one who “makes things grow” (1 Cor 3:7). We as Christians must, however, preach the gospel “in season or out of season” (2 Tim 4:2). There is no better time to preach the gospel than today.

Dear friend, you need Jesus. If your sins are not forgiven and you die, you will suffer in hell for eternity. Humble yourself before the Lord Jesus and believe in Him. He will give you eternal life. Dear Christian, seize every opportunity and share the gospel with your loved ones. Do not give up or wait.