"Dr. Sala, convert my husband"

Treat others as you want them to treat you. Luke 6:31 TLB                                                                                                                                                                                      

When my wife and I were in Kiev, Ukraine, Valentina invited us to their flat so we could meet her husband. After the meal she turned to me and said, “OK, now please convert my husband.” As clearly as possible, I told the story of how God sent His Son who died in our stead, and that salvation through Jesus is God’s free gift that we receive by faith. When I invited him to make the same decision that had changed Valentina’s life, he politely declined. 

Later Valentina asked, “What can I do to convert my husband?” I began by saying, “Valentina, you need to stay at home and be a companion to your husband. You’re gone all the time – at church, at the hospital, doing good things but you aren’t a companion to your husband anymore. First, model the message. Live it out in front of him. Let him see the difference that Jesus has made in your own life.” That’s what Peter had in mind when he confronted the same issue long ago by saying, “Wives, fit in with your husbands’ plans; for then if they refuse to listen when you talk to them about the Lord, they will be won by your respectful, pure behavior” (1 Peter 3:1-2 TLB).

On my next trip to Kiev, a smiling, vibrant Valentina accosted us and blurted out, “Your advice worked! My husband is now a believer! He comes to church with me, too!”

If your mate is not a believer, one of the most convincing things you can do is what I suggested she do: Model the message, be there when he needs you and make yourself attractive – so that he would see and maybe then like the new you. Less preaching, more practicing becomes a message that cannot be ignored.

Make a joyful noise unto the Lord, all ye lands. Serve the Lord with gladness; come before his presence with singing. Know ye that the Lord He is God. It is he that hath made us, and not we ourselves; we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture. Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise; be thankful unto him, and bless his name. For the Lord is good, his mercy is everlasting, and his truth endureth to all generations. Psalm 100:1-5