The Lord commissioned the Japanese evangelist Matzuzaki to preach every day on a specific street in the village. Only after 1000 days – I.e., 1000 sermons – the first conversion took place. This servant persevered faithfully and then reaped the fruit.
Another Christian chopped wood with a neighbor for years to reach him. The man had a very negative attitude towards the gospel. However, after years of chopping wood together, his heart was so softened that he came to church and was converted.
Even more impressive is the testimony of Robert Morrison, who served as a missionary in China despite almost unbearable and unimaginable obstacles and restrictions. As it was forbidden under penalty of death for foreigners even to learn Chinese, his entire ministry was carried out in secret. After 25 years of hard work, he had actually – by human standards – “only” baptized ten Chinese people. But the seed had been sown. Less than 100 years later, the number of Chinese Christians had reached 500,000.
Perseverance in evangelizing is as difficult as it is important. However, the fact that the harvest can follow the seed for some time is both a matter of course in natural life and a biblical principle, as the above biblical passages show. Paul already writes about this: He planted the seed (the Word of God), and Apollos watered – and God then gave the growth (1 Cor. 3:6). The chain that ultimately leads to conversion can consist of many links, as the Lord Himself shows: “One sows and another reaps” (Jn. 4:37).
Two important points become clear:
- It is our responsibility to plant and water – in other words, to proclaim the gospel over and over again.
- Ultimately, it is then up to God to ensure that the seed also bears fruit – at the time determined and worked by Him.
Are you discouraged because you have worked many Saturdays at Gospel outreach programs without seeing any fruit? Are you slowly losing the motivation to evangelize because the person you have preached to many times seems to be as hard as a rock? Have you perhaps been praying for a certain person’s conversion for a long time, but they show no signs of interest? Be motivated to persevere!
Here again, the Lord Jesus Himself is a wonderful example for us: although His brothers did not believe in Him (Jn. 7:5), He did not give up on them. Even after many years of unbelief, their salvation was so important to Him that He appeared to James all alone after His resurrection (1 Cor. 15:7). The fruit was not long in coming: a few years later, this man is called a “pillar” (Gal. 2:9). The harvest sometimes only follows many years or decades after sowing, but it does follow!
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