Mission is the twelfth and last article in the series, The Life of Jesus Christ. To read the whole series click here.
Watchman Nee, author and missionary, reflected on how people become Christians and wondered what the least necessary requirement was to come to faith. Based on Jesus’ parable of the sower, he concluded it was an honest and good heart (Luke 8:15 NLT). A person with an honest and good heart hears the word, retains it and by persevering produces a crop – evidence of a changed life.
People who don’t have an honest and good heart are like the people Jesus spoke about in the story of the rich man and Lazarus. Jesus quotes Abraham as saying, “If they won’t listen to Moses and the prophets, they won’t be persuaded even if someone rises from the dead” (Luke 16:31). In my last article on Jesus’ life, we saw how the soldiers disbelieve what they saw with their own eyes. If someone isn’t open to considering the possibility of God’s existence then no amount of evidence will be enough to change their mind.
However, people with a good and honest heart will come to faith because God can work in their lives and draw them to himself. God searches for people who will be receptive to him and he subtly makes himself known to them (Luke 15). This, of course, doesn’t relieve us of the responsibility of “sowing the seed,” being good witnesses to God’s goodness and intentionally making connections with those God brings into our lives. “Jesus came and told his disciples … go and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Teach these new disciples to obey all the commands I have given you” (Matthew 28:18-20).
However, it’s not our job to force the seed to take root in a person’s life. We’re gentle and respectful and are always prepared to answer everyone who asks us for the reason for the hope that we have (1 Peter 3:15).
