Chinese bamboo is fascinating. To grow Chinese bamboo, you first plant a seed. Then you water and fertilize it. At the end of the first year, nothing happens. During the second year, those nurturing the bamboo seeds continue to water and fertilize the soil, but still nothing happens. The third year, they water and fertilize the soil, with the same results. This pattern continues through the fourth year. It’s not until the fifth year that, sometime during the ongoing watering and fertilizing process, a shoot of bamboo will pierce the soil. In just six weeks, a Chinese bamboo tree will grow to nearly ninety feet tall.
My grandmother died at 105 years of age. In all those years she lived she was adamantly against becoming a Christian. If someone brought up the subject, she’d quickly change it. But one day while visiting my family in Oregon, the Lord told me, ‘Today is the day of salvation for your grandmother.’ Obediently, I went to the elderly home to see my grandmother and I had the pleasure of leading her to the saving knowledge of Jesus Christ that day. She shared with me that day that when she was a child she used to listen to Billy Graham on the radio. In the days and weeks that followed she talked openly of Jesus, and when she died we all knew she was with her King.
After my Grandma had prayed to receive Jesus as her Savior, I asked her why she’d always resisted Him. She put her head down in shame and answered, “I never thought I was good enough to deserve Him.” I happily explained to her that none of us deserve salvation, but it was Jesus’ perfect sacrifice that makes it possible for us to become children of God.
My Grandmother was like that Chinese bamboo. Billy Graham’s radio program planted seeds (among others I’m sure), and other’s watered or fertilized it, the Lord shone the Son on that seed, and I had the pleasure of harvest – after 105 years of care!
We never know what seeds have been planted before us, but one thing is sure, we are all called to participate in the process in the lives of other people through prayer, witness, sharing, and yes, harvesting. Sometimes we just focus on the harvest, but the care of the seed is just as important, if not more important.
***On a side note, whenever I tell people that my Grandmother died at 105 years of age, I inevitably get asked, “What did she die from?” Since sarcasm runs through my veins like blood, I can’t help but say something like, “Well, she was down at Mardi Gra collecting beads to hang around the mirror of her Corvette when….She died of old age for Pete’s sake!” What would you say to that question?
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