God's Unseen Work

It has happened to all of us.  We have moments in our lives where someone has made a statement, or offered a word of instruction that unbeknownst to them has stuck with us for years.  Two instances stand out in my mind.

When I was about 16 we took our annual trip from Kansas to West Virginia.  But this trip was different.  We would be leaving my older sister there in West Virginia as she would be attending a small Bible College.  I recall being with a good friend of my parents, Kenneth.  He was a retired school administrator and had known my parents for many years.  My father was lamenting the fact that his daughter was growing up and would not be returning to Kansas with us when Kenneth, in a friendly but serious matter corrected my Dad.  He reminded him that for the past 18 years he had been training and preparing his daughter for just the moment of release, that this was not a time to lament but a time to celebrate.  I was not the direct recipient of those words, but they had profound impact on my life; to the point that when I released both of my daughters in marriage, I was reminded that I was to celebrate the culmination of the training and preparation, and so I did.  Kenneth had a major impact on me without knowing it.

Paul and Nancy are dear friends.  We only lived next to them for about two years, in Winona Lake, IN but in those two years a wonderful friendship was developed.  Paul is an individual, who in my opinion has a real grasp on the reality of what it means to live in the Kingdom of God.  Whenever they were back in town Paul and Nancy would stop by for a visit, even if it was only for an hour or so.  On one of those visits Paul asked me the standard question about how ministry was going.  I shared with him how that I was frustrated at times by the many interruptions that would come my way.  He listened and smiled and let me finish and then in a very kind and gentle way he said, “Scott, those interruptions are kingdom work.  If you believe that God is in control of your life, then you have to believe that he is allowing those interruptions.  How exciting that God would give you such wonderful opportunities to minister!”

That brief statement affected me to the degree that I quit telling my secretary to hold my calls unless I was in a meeting or counseling appointment with someone.  I decided on that day to seek to learn how to give God control of my schedule and strive to understand that if he allowed an interruption that I should trust him to grant me time to accomplish my to-do list.  It is still a work in progress.

Here is the point.  Jesus said that the kingdom of heaven is like a farmer who scatters seed on the ground and that seed grows.  The farmer does not fully know how but seed germinates and grows to maturity and eventually the mature grain is harvested (Mark 4:26-29).  One of the applications that you and I can take from this parable is the fact that much of God’s work in our lives and in the lives of those with whom we have contact is quiet, unnoticed, and behind the scenes.  Neither Kenneth nor Paul knew how much God would use their words to make a difference in my life. 

As I seek to follow Jesus, I am learning that my job is to be like that farmer, scattering seed and letting God do the work to grow and produce a harvest.  Scattering seed may look different for each one of us.  One may teach and preach, and another may encourage, yet another may be one who has a vital prayer life.  No matter our role be it parents, neighbors, vocational Christian workers, friends, classmates, etc. we who follow Jesus are all used by God to scatter the seed of his truth.  Most of the time we will not see or hear how God has used us, we simply need to trust that he will work through us and sometimes in spite of us.

I have had the opportunity to tell both Kenneth and Paul how God used them in my life.  They were both a little surprised.  They had just scattered some truth seed and moved on believing that God would do his work in his way.  But sometimes in his grace God lets you and me see a glimpse of the harvest.  Just enough, mind you, to encourage us to keep scattering some seed as we walk the path of this life believing that God is always at work.