Evangelism – Balancing Expectations is something that Jesus did. Sharing our faith can be both exciting and discouraging. We rejoice when someone wants to hear about Jesus, but what happens when someone seems uninterested—or even rejects what we have to say?
The Sower
A farmer scatters seed. Some lands on a hard path, some on rocky ground, some among thorns, and some on good soil. The results are dramatically different. Some seed never grows. Some grows briefly and then dies. Some is choked by thorns. But other seed produces an incredible harvest—thirty, sixty, or even one hundred times what was planted. Jesus explains that the seed is God’s Word. People respond differently to it. Satan may snatch the Word away. Trouble and persecution may cause someone to fall away. The worries of life, wealth, and other desires can choke faith. Yet others hear the Word, accept it, and produce abundant fruit.
If there is one lesson to be learned it’s that we don’t control the results. We can certainly think about how we communicate. We can listen, build relationships, answer questions, show love, and remove unnecessary obstacles. But ultimately, we cannot make someone believe.
The Seed
So what can we do? We can scatters seed! We don’t need to carefully examine every square inch of ground and decide which soil deserves a seed. We generously spread it. That’s a wonderful picture of Christian evangelism. We don’t have to determine beforehand who might believe. We simply share the good news of Jesus with the people God puts into our lives. Some will reject it. Others may surprise us. And some will produce fruit beyond anything we imagined. Our job is to sow the seed. God’s Spirit takes care of the harvest.
Want to hear more? Watch this week’s Bible study from our series, Evangelism – Balancing Expectations.