scattering seeds

I am learning to love our call to scatter seeds. We don't know which ones will take root and flourish. We don't know which ones will land on rocky soil. We don't get to micromanage the outcome. We do get to learn much along the way and discover the places where God has already been at work in peoples' lives. We get to communicate the Gospel story in ways that intersect with the stories of the people we are talking with.

I met a student two weeks ago at Wash U who was very open to sharing his thoughts on spirituality. He grew up Lutheran, but now hesitates to associate himself with any one faith tradition. "Organized religion just creates an 'us' and 'them' mentality that is destructive. Besides, as long as people are believing in something I think that all roads lead to the same God," he said to me. I gently challenged his assumption by suggesting that such a view takes as much faith as believing in the exclusivity of Jesus as the way to God. He paused for a moment and then agreed. "I never thought of that," he conceded. I asked if he would be interested in studying Scripture with a small group of curious thinkers and I told him that I thought his perspective would really add to our discussion. He said yes.

Still other seed fell on good soil, where it produced a crop - a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown. He who has ears, let them hear.
Matthew 13:8-9