Stubborn rebels

It is surely thegreat longing and heart's desire of every true Christian that everyone would repent and believe the good news of Jesus Christ as Lord and Saviour. When you compare the blessings of being with Christ with the consequences of persisting in rebellion, it's hard to comprehend why anyone would reject him. And yet most do.
For nearly two decades, I've preached to non-Christians in church, at weddings, funerals and school services and I've told them as clearly and winsomely as I can about the great offer of life in Jesus and the consequences of rejecting him. Once or twice I've been criticised for saying that God punishes evil people, but by and large it seems as if I've just been ignored - or rather, that Jesus and his message of eternal life and eternal death is ignored.
Reading through Revelation is a reminder that God is full of patient compassion as well as fiersome, righteous judgement. There's no reason why he should delay final judgement, but he does, so that everyone has ample opportunity to repent and recevie life. And he sends many warnings of the final judgement as partial judgement begins now (Rev 8 & 9 cf Romans 1:18-32), and yet despite the terrible warnings, we read,    

The rest of mankind, who were not killed by these plagues, did not repent of the works of their hands nor give up worshiping demons and idols of gold and silver and bronze and stone and wood, which cannot see or hear or walk, nor did they repent of their murders or their sorceries or their sexual immorality or their thefts.   (Revelation 9:20-21 ESV)

For those of us who enjoy the mercy, grace and blessings of Jesus, it's hard to comprehend why anyone would not give up their worship of empty idols. Their stubbornness is infuriating, their idiocy makes me angry! How can they refuse such a gracious God? And yet they do.

In their case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God. (2 Corinthians 4:4 ESV).

But we don't give up on evangelism. We persist. We're patient as God is patient. And until the day of final judgement, we will hold out the offer of life which is the gospel.