Sowing Seeds

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God’s ways are as mysterious as the pathways of the wind, and as the manner in which a human spirit is infused into the little body of a baby while it is yet in its mother’s womb. Keep on sowing your seed, for you never know which will grow—perhaps it all will. — Ecclesiastes 11:5,6 TLB

Some people know him as Chuck Swindoll, others as Charles Swindoll. But whichever name is more familiar to you, he’s a favorite. After pastoring a church in southern California for years, he returned to his native Texas and was president of Dallas Theological Seminary before founding Stonebriar Community Church in Frisco in 1998. But even before all of that he was a Marine. It’s his Marine stories that are always my favorite.

In his book on Ecclesiastes entitled Living on the Ragged Edge: Coming to Terms with Reality, Swindoll tells the story of his early days as a Marine—and how the Lord used him to “sow seeds” of faith in his unit:

“Less than two years after Cynthia and I had married, I joined the Marine Corps. The recruiting officer promised me that I would never have to go overseas—and I was stupid enough to believe him. You guessed it. I ended up eight thousand miles from home. And since Marines are not allowed to take their families overseas, Cynthia lived with her folks while I lived in Southeast Asia—another culture, another people, another language, another world! My comfort zone, my plans, my preferences had been invaded and interrupted.

At first I felt offended—my rights had been assaulted! Little did I realize that it was my chance to ‘sow in the morning’ (Ecclesiastes 11:6). It wasn’t long, however, before that began to emerge in my thinking.

Before I dropped the seabag off my shoulder on Okinawa, I realized I was facing the challenge of my sheltered life. . . The lifestyle on the island was somewhere between morally loose and absolutely debauched. I was a married man. I was also a Christian. I wanted to have an impact. I wanted to be different. But frankly, I was scared.

I had no special powers—I was just like every other guy in my outfit. But I had, thank God, Jesus Christ. I remember thinking this prayer as I lay on my bunk that first lonely night, ‘Lord, keep me pure. Give me ways to make Christ known. Let me declare it on the front end of this tour of duty so that I won’t have to live in the shame of a bad memory, hoping these guys never find out later on that I’m a Christian.’ I had no idea that someday I’d be in the ministry, no idea whatsoever. I simply wanted to ‘sow in the morning,’ not knowing when harvest would come.

I had a bunk mate named Eddie. I spoke to Eddie about Christ early on. He wasn’t interested, and he made it clear to me . . . So I honored Eddie’s request. Little did I realize how much he was watching me. I got involved in a Scripture memory program, participated in a prayer ministry, in street meetings and a discipleship program . . .

I wanted so much to reach Eddie, but I was at a loss to know how. One day it occurred to me, ‘Well, he doesn’t want me to witness to him, but maybe he’ll help me review my verses . . . ‘  Eddie agreed but said, ‘I’ll help you with the words, but I ain’t interested in being some kind of monk!’ I smiled and agreed with the plan. So we went over those verses month after month after month after month! Dear guy. He listened. He corrected me. He even encouraged me. But he never once responded. There was never a glimmer of interest on Eddie’s part. No way! Not until more than twenty-five years later.

My phone rang.

‘Charlie?’ (They called me Charlie back in the old days).

‘Yeah, who’s this?’

‘This is Eddie, your old bunk buddy on Okinawa.’

‘Eddie! How are ya?’

‘Uh, hey, listen man. I’ve been saved. My wife, too. Thanks for living for Christ!’ (I was speechless!)

‘You know, remember when you used to lay those verses on me?’

‘Yeah, I remember.’

‘Charlie, . . . it worked!’

. . . Back in 1958 I was sowing. The seeds were planted. In 1984 God brought in the sheaves. What would have happened had I submerged and given in to my doubts when God sent me overseas?  What if I had not trusted Him?

People are watching you. People are watching your marriage—even in the midst of deployment. Especially in the midst of deployment.

Are you giving them a true image of how a Christian handles challenges in life? how a Christian maintains purity? how a Christian grows in his/her faith?

Whether the seeds you sow are words or actions of righteousness, people know—and lives can be changed in the process. As the old saying goes, “You may be the only Bible that others will read.”  And it may be years before the seed that you sow is harvested. Don’t give up.

“I planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but God made it grow. So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God, who makes things grow. The man who plants and the man who waters have one purpose, and each will be rewarded according to his own labor.”  — I Corinthians 3:6-8

Work Cited:

Swindoll, Charles R. Living on the Ragged Edge: Coming to Terms with Reality (Nashville: Thomas Nelson Publishers, 1985 & 2004), pp. 314-15.

Questions to Share:

1. In what ways is your marriage a good model for those around you?

2. Pray to live for Christ in such a way that others will see Him in you.