Last fall my wife and I took the kiddos to a marvelous farm where cow milking and pig herding are group participation events for children. After roaming the fields and riding the makeshift hayride, we made our way to the pumpkin patch. Each of the harvest orbs were small enough for a child to 'pick' and carry away as a memento of the day on a farm. Our daughter settled on three pumpkins that would decorate our front porch for a few months.
Sometime during our protracted winter, the pumpkins became a science experiment. No longer were they precious mementos of a fun day; they had become rotting masses of fiber, seeds and mush. I did what any caring father would do with a pumpkin memento: I kicked it off of the porch. Actually, I kicked two of the putrefying things off of the porch and into the garden.
A few days ago, much to my surprise, I saw a squash sprout appear in the garden. As I stood there wondering how a squash seed got into our garden, I remembered my short-lived soccer game with the ornamental pumpkins. Aha! Mystery solved. It seems that I unintentionally sowed a pumpkin plant, while changing the color of the toe of my sneaker.
I cannot help but compare the incident with lifestyle evangelism. How many people do we direct to, or away from, Christ with our attitude and words? How many persons are attracted to, or repelled away from, the way of Christ by our daily lives?
I do not know if my unintentional squash plant will produce good fruit, nor do we know what our lives of faith will produce. So, live a life that glorifies God and kick a few pumpkins along the way. But, be careful of your sneakers.
Keith |
