AUNT SALLY is happy to provide free personal advice and opinions on a variety of subjects. Need help with relationship problems, spiritual questions, parenting situations? Ask Aunt Sally! Send your questions or comments to Aunt Sally via email at [email protected] or by regular mail at Ask Aunt Sally, Salvation Army Publications, 615 Slaters Lane, Alexandria, VA 22313. Questions appropriate for printing in the War Cry will be answered through this column. Dear Aunt Sally: How would you minister the Gospel to unbelieving parents and family members? — Longing to help my family Dear Aunt Sally: Why did God place the tree in the middle of the Garden of Eden? — Makes No Sense Dear Longing: It is only natural that you would want to share the good news about Jesus with those closest to you whom you love deeply. Yet, it is surprising how difficult this can be. You will want to make sure of your own experience with Christ first. Is your relationship with Him a daily, growing, life-changing journey? Your family members should be able to see something of Christ’s influences on your life. These changes will be a testament to any sharing you will engage in. When witnessing to people with whom you have such close emotional ties, it is important to try to see them through God’s eyes, to see their great need for a relationship with Him and all that this will add to their lives. It is vital to be distressed at how perilously close to eternity they are, and to greatly desire their soul’s safety from the Evil One and the punishment of Hell. This mindset goes a long way toward keeping you focused when distractions threaten. Pray. Talk to the One you are hoping your loved ones will embrace. Ask for His guidance, His wisdom, His direction. Ask Him to open their eyes. Prepare yourself. Study the Bible for verses that will be helpful if you get the wonderful opportunity of leading a loved one to Christ. Wait. Wait for the Holy Spirit to signal you that now is the time to act. Despite all of this preparation, remember that God is in control. As deep as your longing is for the salvation of your loved ones, His is much deeper. His plan to reach them may not include you. Keep loving them, praying for them and reflecting Christ. 8 The War Cry | JUNE 2013 Dear Makes No Sense: God’s crowning achievement in the creation of our world was to create man. He created a beautiful home for us, made us in His own image and gave us the rare gift of free will. God did not want people to behave as mindless puppets who unthinkingly did everything He asked. He wanted people to have freedom of choice—the ability to decide to live in fellowship with and obedience to God or to choose their own path and live apart from Him. Among all the beauty and bounty of the Garden of Eden, man’s first home in this new creation, God placed two trees that were off limits to Adam. One, the tree of knowledge, was right in the middle of the Garden. One simple law Adam was given to obey was not to eat from that tree. The presence of the tree gave man the opportunity to exercise his free will, to make his own choice about his life. Unfortunately, Adam chose to disobey God and eat from the tree. All who have come after Adam have lived with the consequences of his choice and entered the world with a sinful nature that separates us from God. But the One who was rejected by our collective ancestors chose out of His great love and unmerited favor to send His Son Jesus to pay the price for our sins. Let’s make sure to get it right this time and choose Christ, so our relationship with God may be fully restored. He wanted people to have freedom of choice...