Sometimes one of the most frustrating things about living out the Great Commission is when we share the Gospel but don’t see it take root. This is something that I, personally, struggle with; I guess this can fall under the prayer for patience. I hate seeing when someone just doesn’t seem to grasp it. They respond with real, genuine thoughts so you know they are processing it, it just feels like, based on (re)actions, the words are falling on deaf ears. So what do we do when this happens? What does the Bible say about it?
One of the things that I constantly have to remind myself of is that it is a marathon, not a sprint. However, another good example is the germination process of a seed. Midterms are over so I’ll do my best to give the basic gist of the analogy. In case you didn’t know, germination is the process of the plant growing from sapling to full bloom. Here is a basic overview according to Study.com,
There is no need to get any more technical with the process as long as the idea remains. My reference passage is 1 Corinthians 3:5-8,“First the seed grows a root to access water underground. Next, the shoots, or growth above ground, begin to appear. The seed sends a shoot towards the surface, where it will grow leaves to harvest energy from the sun. The leaves continue to grow towards the light source in a process called photomorphogenesis. Below is a seed emerging from the ground during germination.”
“What then is Apollos? What is Paul? Servants through whom you believed, as the Lord assigned to each. 6 I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the growth. 7 So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God who gives the growth. 8 He who plants and he who waters are one, and each will receive his wages according to his labor.”