“And they took offense at him. But Jesus said to them, 'A prophet is not without honor except in his own town and in his own home.'” - Matthew 13:57

As a child, I often heard Billy Graham’s sermons playing in our home. My mother, who prayed for many years for my father’s conversion, would play recordings of his sermons, hoping that God’s Word would touch her husband’s heart. It seemed that she sincerely believed that if a person heard the Gospel enough times, it would inevitably bear fruit.

Today, many Christians do the same. We send our family members links to sermons, give them books, present biblical arguments, and return to conversations about God again and again. We assume the problem is simply that our loved ones have not heard the Gospel enough.

But what if that’s not the whole story?

What if, for them, the obstacle is not only the message about Christ, but also the person bringing it?

That was the case with Joseph. His father’s special love for him, his stories about his brothers, and his dreams gradually became sources of tension within the family. His brothers did not see him only as someone to whom God was revealing the future. They saw Jacob’s younger son, their father’s favorite, someone with whom they had a long and complicated history.

The same is often true of our own families. They cannot separate the message of the Gospel from everything they know about us. Along with our words, they remember the years they have spent beside us. They see our weaknesses, mistakes, and shortcomings. Along with the Gospel, our loved ones always hear the story of our lives.

A brother hears more than a Bible verse. He also remembers the arguments, jealousy, and injustice. A wife hears not only words about God’s love, but also the years of life you have shared together. Parents remember our mistakes, and children remember our unkept promises.

That is why evangelism within the family is one of the most difficult forms of evangelism.

We often think that the Christian’s main responsibility is to say the right words. But Joseph’s story forces us to ask a different question: Is truth alone enough if it is not accompanied by humility, patience, and love?

God did not simply use Joseph to save his brothers from famine. He spent many years working on Joseph himself. He transformed him from a young man who freely told others about his dreams into a man who could weep, forgive, and see God’s purpose even in his own suffering. Only many years later was Joseph able to say to his brothers:

“You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives.” - Genesis 50:20

Perhaps when God sends us to share the Gospel with our own families, He wants to change not only our loved ones, but us as well. So perhaps the most important question is not why they are not hearing the Gospel, but what God wants to accomplish in my heart through these people.