I think all of us have special encounters with Jesus and the Holy Spirit in our spiritual journey. I think of Paul as a great teacher in Israel. He then had the Damascus road experience and was blinded. The prophet came to him and his sight was returned, he was taken up into the heaven; he then became a great spiritual teacher in the church. These things did not happen in one year, they were spread out over many years.
Our spiritual journey is also spread out over many years. For many of us, our first experience was when we were children and faith in God and Jesus entered into our heart from our parents or our local church. A special time for some of us was when we were baptized or confirmed by our church. Sickness is also the time that some people have that special encounter with the Lord that changes the rest of their life.
I think of Billy Graham and his ministry and of the multitudes that came to his altar calls, many of whom were believers, and I wondered why they went forward? I now see why! They were ready to make a deeper commitment. Many of them received faith as little children from their parents or in their bible school or at CD classes. There’s a time we receive faith and another time we make a commitment, another time when we serve, another time when we lay down our lives for one another.
Don’t expect more from a person then they are able to give. We are all at a different places in our spiritual growth. Because you don’t see Jesus in someone it doesn’t mean He is not there. A comment I have heard a number of times; “That church is deader then a doornail!” It might be dead to you but to someone else it might be very alive.