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,
“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.”
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,
“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.”
When Paul wrote to the Corinthians in approximately A.D. 55, the whole process of germination had not been discovered, but I am going to use the process to dive deeper into what Paul is telling us. The first thing we need to work at is to nurture the soil. If you have ever gardened, or thought of gardening, or walked outside, or… well, you get my point, you know that the soil must be in the right condition. You can’t just randomly put a seed in the ground, throw some water on it and expect it to grow. No, you must work and till the soil until it is the right condition for seeds to grow. This is no easy task; we must work hard to nurture the soil. In the same way, the person’s heart must be ready to receive the Gospel. If it isn’t, then the scenario in Luke 8:5-7 is played out,
“A sower went out to sow his seed. As he was sowing, some fell along the path; it was trampled on, and the birds of the sky ate it up. 6 Other seed fell on the rock; when it sprang up, it withered, since it lacked moisture. 7 Other seed fell among thorns; the thorns sprang up with it and choked it.’
This takes lots of hard work and lots of humility. We must also do this with gentleness or it may feel, to the other person, like we are forcing it down their throats, which can easily lead them in the opposite direction we want. The biggest thing we must do, however, is remember that we cannot change their hearts, only God, which means we must pray about it daily. Stay tuned for Part 2.
wow this is deep!! Is there going to be part II?
Yes, there will be. Please subscribe for updates.