David Anguish
"Now the parable is this: the seed is the word of God" (Luke 8:11, NASB).
"I planted, Apollos watered, but God was causing the growth" (1 Corinthians 3:6).
"For Christ did not send me to baptize, but to preach the gospel, not in cleverness of speech, so that the cross of Christ would not be made void" (1 Corinthians 1:17).
We heard recently of a Christian whose concern for the lost is realized in action to tell them about the Lord. But her frustration with one of them was particularly acute because, after numerous studies, the person just won't take the step into salvation. "Why won't he respond!?" she asks, the mounting frustration obvious in her voice.
In truth, there may be - and probably are - a web of reasons. Perhaps he is convinced, but not convicted. Perhaps procrastination has become a habit. Maybe the soil which is his heart is hardening. Maybe that soil just needs some time to let the seed grow, unhindered by constant cultivation. Or maybe something else is at work, not least of which could be the freedom God gave him which gives him the right to refuse the overtures of well intentioned Christians.
The frustration on the part of his would-be converter reminds us that it is important to be clear about just what it is that God has called us to do. Simply put, our role is not to convert others, but to preach the gospel to them, in other words, to influence them to convert. When we think conversion is our task, we set ourselves up for frustration. When we see that we are seed sowers, we free ourselves for more effective service.
What converters may forget is that people do have the freedom to say no, even to God. It is all too easy for a converter to take a no as a personal affront. Or, he tends to think that no means that he must have done something wrong. Or that he's just not working hard enough. Unless he's careful, he begins to work from anger or guilt rather than love. If he teaches in anger, he further complicates the problem, sending signals which push away rather than invite. If his work is motivated by guilt, he may turn to manipulative pressure tactics which display the opposite of the love for others true evangelism implies. Or, he may just give up, ceasing to be effective at all.
In churches where the prevailing attitude is that of converters rather than sowers, the problem is complicated exponentially. Temptation mounts to get the conversion total up. To become more concerned with a conversion schedule than the well being of the people we are called to tell about God's love. To bypass "harder" cases which will take more time ("Samaritans" and "Athenians") in favor of exclusive attention to easier "prospects" (Apolloses). To surrender to the temptation to declare cheap grace instead of gospel obedience. To use only a limited number of "guaranteed" methods instead of a variety of media to sow widely.
Do not misunderstand: there are too many churches in which one of the foremost things needing restoration is the zeal to tell others about God which is so evident on the pages of the New Testament. Where such restoration is needed, God's people should be challenged to greater evangelistic involvement.
But true New Testament evangelism remembers that conversion comes from God's work and that we are but the vessels in which that work is carried out. We should hurt for the lost. We should do all we can, using as many legitimate methods as possible, to persuade them that they need Jesus. We should feel something when a lost soul says no to God, and rejoice when one says yes. But we should also remember that God gives the growth when his seed is sown.
Let us plant, and water, that God may give more growth!