chapter two
WINDS OF CHANGE
Looking back, it strikes me that early in my ministry, I did what I knew. My grandparents’ lives were changed at an evangelistic event, and in the beginning, I put on evangelistic events. My life was changed at a camp, and in the beginning, I put on camps.
But as Poland slowly opened, so did my methods.
Jesus told a parable of a farmer who indiscriminately scattered seed. It seems he just threw seed everywhere. Some seeds fell on rocky soil, where they instantly died. Some fell into shallow soil, where they shot up, but the life was quickly snuffed out of them by the heat of the sun. Other seeds fell in good, deep soil, where they took root, grew, and produced a harvest.
I learned some important truths from Jesus’s parable:
•I n the parable, the seeds represent the Gospel, and the farmer is throwing alot of seeds. We need to be sharing the Gospel as often as possible with as many people as possible.
•The seeds are not just planted in one small patch of ideal soil; they are thrown everywhere, even in seemingly unfavorable locations. We need to share the Gospel everywhere, even with people who may not seem very receptive.
•The soil matters. In the parable, the seed is all the same. What changes and is the determining factor is the receptivity of the soil. The same is true when we share Jesus with people.
•The harvest is not immediate. When you plant a pumpkin seed, you don’t get an instant pumpkin. It takes time for the seed to take root and for the fruit to grow. Some Christians expect to see instant results from one spiritual conversation with a stranger, but if we play out Jesus’s parable, we would expect a spiritual harvest to be the result of a process, and probably not a quick one.
I discovered the reality of all those truths firsthand as I continued in ministry and tried new methods of sharing the Gospel, much of which was possible because of what was happening in Poland.
A Change In The Government
You could almost smell the fresh wind of change in Poland. A breeze was blowing through the country and bringing hope
