Life Transformations & Impacts Of EvangelismНамуна

“Sowing Seeds”

When my brother Jase got out of high school, one of the first things he did was make a list of some of his high school buddies—not to settle old scores, mind you. Jase wanted to see them come to Jesus. So he took his list and started praying for them and sharing the good news of Jesus with them one by one. Well, it wasn’t very long before word got around that Jase was fired up about God.

One day Jase was asked to give a Bible study for one fellow at his home, where he lived with several roommates. As the two of them were preparing to get started, Jase opened up his Bible and asked “Kevin,” one of the other guys who lived there, if he’d like to join them and listen. Kevin made it clear that he didn’t want to have any part of that conversation. He cleared out and headed to the adjoining room to play a video game—but Jase noticed that he left the door ajar between the two rooms.

For the better part of an hour, Jase took the other guy through the whole gospel message. At the end of the study, Jase asked him if he wanted to invite Jesus into his heart. The guy said he appreciated the offer, but he wasn’t interested in taking that step of faith. Since Jase isn’t one to force Jesus down anybody’s throat, he politely gathered his notes and his Bible and stood to leave.

At that point, the door swung wide open and Kevin stepped into the room. “Hey, I’m ready to move on this right now,” he announced. Even though he had pretended not to listen, playing video games and never saying a word, the message had convicted him. He told Jase, “I need to obey what you’ve been talking about.” Jase talked to him a little bit more about faith in Jesus and then took him down to the river to baptize him.

Like the story Jesus told about the sower who scattered seeds—some of which took root and grew, some of which did not—Jase was happy to sow the message of the Bible for all who would listen. The seed took root in Kevin’s heart, and he has been a brother in the faith ever since. He now lives in Dallas, where he’s active in his church. On the other hand, the seed didn’t spring up in the place where Jase had thought he was planting it—at least not yet!

Al Robertson