Don't Wait!

I mentioned yesterday how much I hate being late. At odds with this is the fact that I'm also a champion procrastinator. Back in high school, I used the "I work better under pressure" line like I invented it myself. Possibly, there's even a little truth to that. But whatever the case, I tend to wait on a lot of things until the last minute.

This was true for homework, and is still true for housework, for various aspects of my day job, and even for my home life. But worse than that, it's also true when it comes to sharing the Good News of Christ with other people.

Consider: we believe Man is fallen, and can never attain the perfection required by the God who created us. We can never be good enough to even enter His presence. Our lot is an eternal death, wholly separate from the God of the Universe. Yet, by his painful execution on the cross, Jesus, the Son of God, who wrapped Himself in flesh, made it possible to stand before God completely justified and unashamed. He took that imperfection and provided us a way to become something new and better in Him. And in so doing, He restored our relationship with the Father who never wanted us to walk away. This is the Gospel, and it's for everybody. But we wait.

Penn Jillette is an illusionist and avowed atheist. A few years ago, a man risked mockery and humiliation by presenting Penn with a Bible. While it didn't change his mind and force him to his knees to beg forgiveness of the God he has denied, a seed was planted. A powerful one. So powerful, Penn took to the internet just to tell everyone about the experience. And then Penn Jillette said something so profound, it has shamed me, and humbled me, and stuck with me ever since.

If you believe that there’s a heaven and a hell, and people could be going to hell or not getting eternal life, and you think that it’s not really worth telling them this because it would make it socially awkward—and atheists who think people shouldn’t proselytize and who say just leave me alone and keep your religion to yourself—how much do you have to hate somebody to not proselytize? How much do you have to hate somebody to believe everlasting life is possible and not tell them that?

I mean, if I believed, beyond the shadow of a doubt, that a truck was coming at you, and you didn’t believe that truck was bearing down on you, there is a certain point where I tackle you. And this is more important than that.

So what are you waiting for? We are given one life, and an unknown amount of time. We were given Grace and forgiveness by Christ, and a command to let everyone know they can have it too. If we continue to put off our daily chores, if we continue to insist we can work on that project better under pressure, in this one thing, let us stop procrastinating. Because when it comes to the lives and souls of others, we simply don't have that right. 

Planting Seeds

That same day Jesus went out of the house and sat by the lake. Such large crowds gathered around him that he got into a boat and sat in it, while all the people stood on the shore. Then he told them many things in parables, saying: “A farmer went out to sow his seed. As he was scattering the seed, some fell along the path, and the birds came and ate it up. Some fell on rocky places, where it did not have much soil. It sprang up quickly, because the soil was shallow. But when the sun came up, the plants were scorched, and they withered because they had no root. Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up and choked the plants. Still other seed fell on good soil, where it produced a crop—a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown. Whoever has ears, let them hear.” (Matthew 13:1-9)

Today is Plant A Flower Day. Although, if you're in Wisconsin, it may be a good idea to plant it inside for now. But another way to celebrate today is to remember we, as God's faithful, are sowers of another, more vital seed: that of God's word. Jesus explains the above parable in verses 19-23:

When anyone hears the message about the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what was sown in their heart. This is the seed sown along the path. The seed falling on rocky ground refers to someone who hears the word and at once receives it with joy. But since they have no root, they last only a short time. When trouble or persecution comes because of the word, they quickly fall away. The seed falling among the thorns refers to someone who hears the word, but the worries of this life and the deceitfulness of wealth choke the word, making it unfruitful.  But the seed falling on good soil refers to someone who hears the word and understands it. This is the one who produces a crop, yielding a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown.”

Now, when you and I sow God's word, we don't know what the soil looks like. We may not know the work the Spirit is doing in the heart of the one to whom we're speaking. But God asks us, nevertheless, to sow. Sometimes, we are prompted be direct about it: to come right out and talk to somebody about the love of God. But even with our lives, we sow. Jesus reminds us in Matthew 7:16, followers and false prophets alike are known by their fruit. This is a theme repeated throughout the New Testament, in fact. 

We are sowers, and the seed we scatter comes in many varieties. We can't know, always, the condition of the soil -- the hearts of the ones we reach. What we have to do is be certain of what we sow. Is it
love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, and faithfulness? Is it the word of Hope, and the Gospel of Christ?

If so, don't be discouraged! We won't reach everyone we want to reach right away, in the way we want to reach them. But in the hearts of some, there will be understanding. And where there is understanding, there is a crop -- a yield of many times what was sown.

It's our job to scatter the seed -- let God work with the soil.

NOTE: On another day, we'll talk about what happens next: the cultivation of a good crop. In faith, as in farming, scattering the seed is step one.