In this column, I've given some examples of the success stories I've had in sharing the gospel with those whose ears God has prepared. I do not, however, want to give the impression that this is what happens all the time. In the parable of the soils, Jesus talked about four kinds of heart conditions upon which the Word of God can fall: hardened, rocky, tangled with thorns, and fertile (Matt. 13:3-9). More times than not, my efforts to evangelize fall on hardened ground, and when they do so, they fall with a resounding THUD.

This happened to me just recently. I was interviewing two executives from a manufacturer of spectrophotometry equipment for an article I was writing for a public relations firm. As we talked, they told me about a piece of equipment that would help my husband, who has an autobody shop business, quantify and measure the color of this paint. My husband works alone, so this equipment would have been way out of our price range, but I used this opportunity to see if the door was open for sharing the gospel.

“Well, when I get rich from the sales of my book,” I said, “I must say, we'll have to look into it.”

As I knew that it would, this comment led to the natural reply, “Oh? You wrote a book? What is it about?”

“Biblical prophecy.”

Instantly, the air got very heavy, and I could feel the dead silence on the other end of the phone.

“Well, that certainly is a...challenging subject.”

Gone Fishin'

I began to expound briefly upon the current interest in biblical prophecy, even in the popular media, hoping to pique their curiosity. I told them about the cover story by Newsweek and the PBS Special earlier that year. I told them about the number of Hollywood movies like End of Days and Armageddon that capitalize on people's fascination with the battle of Armageddon, and even Christian books and movies like Left Behind and The Omega Code that have gotten secular recognition. I mentioned that my book, rather than using speculation as many secular sources do, actually takes a look at what the Bible — the source of all true end-times prophecy — has to say about the subject.

Had there been any opening for me to share the gospel, one of the two men on the other end of the speaker phone would have picked up on it. One might have said, “Oh? Really? I always wondered about that.” Or, “Do you really believe all that prophecy stuff?” Instead, one of the executives said flatly, “Well, we certainly wish you well. So anyway, back to the article...”

I used to get discouraged when this sort of thing happened, becoming embarrassed or flustered. Not anymore. The longer I do this, and the more rejections I get, I have begun to understand in a very deep and intimate way the parable of the soils. At the very least, I have been obedient to Jesus' command to spread the gospel, and I have fulfilled my responsibility to sound the alarm that God is real and that people have a responsibility to respond to His call.

I also think of God's command to Ezekiel:

“And He said to me: `Son of man, I am sending you to the children of Israel, to a rebellious nation that has rebelled against Me; they and their fathers have transgressed against Me to this very day. For they are impudent and stubborn children. I am sending you to them, and you shall say to them, `Thus says the Lord God.' As for them, whether they hear or whether they refuse — for they are a rebellious house — yet they will know that a prophet has been among them. And you, son of man, do not be afraid of them nor be afraid of their words, though briers and thorns are with you and you dwell among scorpions; do not be afraid of their words or dismayed by their looks, though they are a rebellious house. You shall speak my words to them, whether they hear or whether they refuse, for they are rebellious. But you, son of man, hear what I say to you. Do not be rebellious like that rebellious house; open your mouth and eat what I give you” (Eze. 2:3-8).

But there is a positive side to such rejection, as well. Because I also know that some seeds do not sprout right away.

Life From Charred Earth

When my husband and I recently visited Yellowstone National Park, we were awestruck by the devastation left by the forest fires of 1988. But there was new growth popping up, too. There were hundreds of thousands of bright green, waist-high trees covering the burned out areas of the forest like a carpet. This soft undergrowth was soft, pliable, so fresh and new. And as we read about this new growth on the park's nature area information boards, we were amazed to discover that some pine seeds actually do not sprout until they are exposed to the intense heat of a forest fire. Thus, as the fire sweeps out the aging trees and brush, it simultaneously causes the regeneration of the forest from beneath. It is God's perfect purging and cleansing plan, designed from the foundation of the world.

Seeds of the gospel act much the same way. Many of the seeds that I plant may not sprout until heated by fire. Those two men may hold those seeds in their heart until God uses a life circumstance to bring them around to thinking about spiritual things. My seed, “some writer I know found biblical prophecy valid enough to spend three years of her life writing about it,” may be joined with someone else's seed — maybe a snippet from a television evangelist giving examples of fulfilled prophecy today — and they just might pick up their Bible to see what it's all about. Or go to a Christian bookstore to look for a book on the subject of the end times.

God is patient, and all things must happen in His timing. Who knows? Just because people I witness to do not respond right away does not mean that they will not respond at all. After all, “the Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance” (2 Peter 3:9). And God knows when the time is right. For His timing is perfect.

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