Wasted Seeds

Yesterday I watched a couple of documentary films, one on Keith Green and the other on Rees Howells, whom I was already pretty familiar with. As I was watching, something was coming over me that was new and strange. Both of these men, largely different in their personalities and the way that God met them in their lives, had in common a burning desire to see the lost come to hear the gospel. It was their consuming passion. And it stirred something in me that was hard to explain. All I can say is that it seemed like they were on the best ride ever and I wanted to get on too.

For a long time, since college, I have not been interested in sharing the gospel unless God specifically brought me a person who was hungry and eager. I tried sharing with my friends in college and it got nowhere. People were closed and it didn't seem to matter how much I loved Jesus or if I had the right answers. So I figured I was going about it all wrong. I'll just hang out in one spot and wait for a hungry fish to come my way. But I haven't seen any fish.

The Lord brought home to me the reality that efficiency is not His MO. In the parable of the sower, the sower went out scattering seeds, which landed on various hearts, some fruitful, some not. I was more like a sower going around testing patches of dirt with my toe and only planting where I thought there was a reasonable chance the seed could grow. But the realization came: how did I know my estimation of the soil was correct? It is quite likely that I have passed a lot of good soil.

The sower went out and scattered seed. Not only did some of it fail to produce fruit, 3/4 of it did. But He scattered all the same. And now I feel free, adventurous, excited...it's not like the seed bag is going to go empty and there is a lot of land out there that needs covering.