I was protestant for many years. However, as my years in Orthodoxy pass by I find it more and more difficult to remember what actually being protestant was like.
For me, the instant I encountered Orthodoxy I knew I had found home. However, most all protestants I've shared with want nothing to do with the Orthodox Church... so this makes it even harder to connect with them.
There wasn't one single year as a protestant that I felt "fulfilled." I was constantly seeking and learning about new denominations/religions, hoping to one day find ultimate fulfillment. However, most protestants I know seem to be just fine with being "satisfied," but not "fulfilled" (or at least they try to pretend their satisfaction is actually fulfillment).
Protestants have heard the "this-is-the-real-deal" line about so many denominations… I suppose they just get sick of it and become callous, figuring that the idea of a "one true church/denomination" is just a fairy tale. They conclude that their lack of feeling fulfilled must be their own fault for not trusting God enough, not being content with what God has given them, etc. Then, to avoid sinking into despair, they "put on a happy face" and pretend that everything is "super-great" and "couldn't be better." They continue in this state day after day after day.
So when someone comes along and tells them about Orthodoxy, they immediately fall into automatic-reject mode, and politely (sometimes not so politely) state that they are just fine with where they are. The thing is, if they didn’t respond this way, then they would have to admit that all their years prior were not “super-great” and they could be accused of lying to others and themselves. Of course, none of these circumstantial factors are the fault of protestants as individuals, but they can easily fall into despair over feeling personally responsible for these circumstances.
Protestants are like anyone else: they don’t want to get hurt. They don’t want to open up a can of worms they’ve tried to pretend didn’t exist. The older they are, the more years of suppression they’ve experienced. If anyone says anything to them that could cause that deep reservoir of doubt and confusion to come back to the surface… then their defenses and red-flags immediately go up, warning that if they continue down this train of thought they will have to come-to-terms with months, years, decades of denial.
While I believe that the sacrifice required of a protestant to become Orthodox is most assuredly 100% worth it, I can also sympathize with protestants who are just too scared to take such a giant leap of faith.
Let us pray that the Lord will strengthen their hearts, and give them the courage needed to overcome the deceiver and enter into the fullness of the One True Body of Jesus Christ, Who is eternally glorified together with the Father and Holy Spirit.
Amen