Don't Give Up!
John Hopper —
I grew up in the Central Valley of California. That meant, among other things, that I was surrounded by some of the most productive agricultural land in the world. My first school was Figarden Elementary, aptly named because it was literally surrounded by thousands of acres of fig trees. Beyond the figs were apples, lemons, oranges, and peaches, often stretching as far as the eye could see.
Some of the trees remain and have been there for decades. They are thick and broad, full of blossoms in the spring and heavy with fruit each fall. But the trees didn’t start that way. After their initial planting, it took five years or more to produce a crop worth harvesting. That’s five years of investment, five years of care, and five years of waiting—just to get the first small crop.
You won’t find many people today who are willing to wait five years for any kind of result. Our culture is all about instant access, overnight delivery, and start-ups that go viral in their first month. If it can’t happen with a single click, we get impatient. We move on. I am glad this isn’t God’s approach when it comes to people . . . because people don’t grow overnight.
You might know a story where a kind gesture or a grace-filled word about Jesus immediately began to produce spiritual fruit in someone’s life. But for every one of those stories, there are dozens of others that speak of the months, years, and even decades of care, concern, and conversations before a heart turned toward Jesus.
I am convinced that the greatest barrier to evangelism today—not for the non-Christian but for the Christian—is the unwillingness to keep one’s hand to the plow. To keep reaching out to a friend or a colleague over the long run. To be there when someone’s world is soaring, and when that same person’s world is falling apart. To keep planting seeds of truth, asking questions, and giving respectful and reasoned answers.
We want to plant fig trees today and see a crop tomorrow. And when it doesn’t happen, we get discouraged. We say, “I am not gifted.” We say, “My friend’s heart is too hard.” We say, “I am not the person for the job.” Then we quietly quit.
The trees that surrounded me growing up would have never produced fruit if, in year two or three, they were no longer watered and fed. So, when it comes to your friends and family members, don’t give up! God is not done with them yet. As the Apostle Paul wrote: “Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up” (Galatians 6:9).
John Hopper is the Executive Director of REACH, the author of Questioning God and Giving Jesus Away, a lover of a great family, and a big fan of tennis.
