John 7:5
For neither did his brethren believe in him.

Those troublesome Pharisees weren’t the only ones filled with unbelief.  The scribes weren’t the only ones who scoffed at Jesus and His teachings.  It wasn’t just the religious rulers that would deny the Savior in their midst.  They weren’t the only ones blind to the truth.  Jesus’ own brethren didn’t believe on Him.  Even those who knew Him best and saw Him work and dwelt with Him couldn’t bring themselves to believe.

So let us not be discouraged, then, if we have taken the roundabout way to God.  Let’s not feel like He won’t accept us now because we failed to accept Him sooner.  It’s not too late to believe as long as we still draw breath.  All that matters is that we come to know Him personally, not how soon after hearing about Him that we come to believe on Him.  Not everybody understands immediately, and not everyone’s heart is ready for Him the first time they hear about Him.

There are many who walk around knowing about Jesus and knowing of Him who don’t know Him as their own personal Savior.  There are many who may believe He existed and still not believe on Him as the Son of God, the promised Christ who will redeem them and save them.  But that doesn’t mean they can’t eventually get to that place.  It doesn’t mean we give up on them and cast them off as hopeless cases just because it takes a while.  It doesn’t mean we stop witnessing to a lost world because they reject Christ at first, because we don’t know who will eventually submit to Him.

It may seem hard to believe that the people of Jesus’ day didn’t all believe on Him when they witnessed firsthand so many amazing things and heard His precious words for themselves.  It’s even more amazing that His own brethren didn’t believe.  So let us be gracious towards those who struggle to come to faith in Him and keep praying for them and witnessing to them and showing them Jesus by our words and actions.  And if we keep loving them like Jesus does, maybe someday they will finally believe.