One day on one of my walks, I was thinking about students that came through our city for summer camp, many of whom encountered Jesus for the first time. It takes a bit of imagination to relate to the lives of seekers and new believers, especially new believers among the least reached.
I was thinking about how challenging it would be as the first one in your family or community to say yes to Jesus, that first conversation with your parents about how you were setting aside many generations of tradition and belief, choosing to risk it all on Jesus. You would need a balance of love, toughness, and gentleness in response to anger from family and friends. You would need faithfulness in giving reasons for the hope within, and lots of perseverance on the journey.
As I walked, I noticed plants coming up through the cracks in the parking lot. It was at the end of the summer and it had not rained in weeks. Yet, here were these plants that had found a way to not just grow, but to flower and go to seed, multiplying in a parking lot.
I prayed then for all those who, after choosing to follow Jesus, have had to face disapproving families and communities. These new believers would need to depend on the Holy Spirit and the seed of the Gospel in their hearts, needing to be pioneers while facing all the usual temptations of life. I prayed that they would have the toughness to persist through barriers, and the hope to spread the Gospel seeds, even if it looked like they might only land in a hard heart. A bit like the seeds that fell in the parking lot cracks.
Please pray for these new believers as they live out their faith, that they would have both courage and love to share the truth of Jesus with family and friends. Keep praying that the seeds of the Gospel message would fall into hearts and take root and bear fruit, like the parking lot flowers.
Sean (not his real name), is currently based in North America, developing translation resources and training East Asian Bible translators online.
