Sowing and Reaping

I recently received this text from Elle, one of the sisters in our faculty-staff Bible study group on my campus. Praise the LORD, indeed! Elle’s dad is 90-years-old, and she has prayed for his salvation for decades and has shared the gospel with him many times. Despite his rejections, Elle never gave up.

It was Elle’s husband who led her father to Christ. Elle was the one who sowed seeds and prepared her father for the moment he said “yes” to Jesus.

In the Gospel of John, Jesus told His disciples, “Look at the fields! They are ripe for harvest. Even now the one who reaps draws a wage and harvests a crop for eternal life, so that the sower and the reaper may be glad together. Thus, the saying ‘one sows and another reaps’ is true. I sent you to reap what you have not worked for. Others have done the hard work, and you have reaped the benefits of their labor,” John 4:35-38.

Elle’s faithfulness encourages me as I think about the opportunities I have as a Christ-following professor to pray for and to share Christ with students and faculty. I admit that I have been discouraged when I sow and do not see spiritual fruit. 

But Elle reminded me that I may not know, this side of heaven, whether or how I have impacted others for Christ.

I’m reminded of my colleague, Larry. Larry grew up in an Orthodox Jewish family. His childhood included his mother lighting candles on the Sabbath, a kosher home, celebration of Jewish holidays, and Hebrew School.

Sometime during his Ivy League college education, Larry realized that he did not believe in God. Larry found that as his understanding of science increased, everything related to God and scripture became mere fairy tales. When I pointed out that many brilliant scientists are followers of Jesus, Larry said he could not understand how brilliant scientists can follow Jesus, knowing what they know.

In the spirit of a true scientist, Larry considers alternate viewpoints. Over the years, Larry attended our faculty-staff Bible studies, Good Friday services, and many Christian events, including presentations by Francis Collins and William Lane Craig. Larry participated in discussions of Psalm 22 and Isaiah 53.

He has heard the gospel multiple times, and even the other day over coffee, I shared the gospel with Larry. He listened respectfully, and even though he considered it, he still concluded that it is “all just superstition and mythology.”

He followed up with an email. “Great seeing you today. Thanks for the coffee…I think I’m a really good example of a Jewish child who has become a science professor and a Jewish atheist.”

Elle’s faithfulness and her dad’s eventual salvation remind me that each opportunity to share Christ with our students and colleagues like Larry is sowing seeds. Even if the message is rejected or I don’t see the harvest, I don’t want to give up. Elle’s experience with her dad is just the encouragement I needed!