What I thought was just a routine visit to my favorite nursery turned out to be a transformed life for a man sitting on a bench in the early afternoon. I was there because of my love for horticulture. My upbringing was primarily in an agrarian setting, so I am always looking for another fruit tree to add to my backyard orchard.
I sorted out some fruit trees and ended up buying a nectarine tree. As I was carrying it to my truck, I saw a middle-aged gentleman relaxing on a bench. It was the weekend, so there was a large crowd milling about but not trying to engage with anyone. As I was passing the gentleman, he looked at my plant and said, "So what do you have there?"
I politely answered, telling him it was a nectarine fruit tree. He must have sensed that I was willing to stop and talk even though we were complete strangers. After chatting a little about growing fruit trees in Texas, he shared that he lived in San Antonio and a neighbor had given him a nectarine tree. “How long will it take before it begins producing fruit?” he asked.
“You should start getting fruit in three years,” I replied. Then came the moment that I sensed he was vulnerable, despairing and lacking hope. “I will be dead and gone in three years, so will never eat any fruit from my tree,” he responded.
I immediately felt concern about his hopelessness and contemplated whether or not to continue our conversation. But the Holy Spirit would not allow me to leave him in his desperate state. I took a few steps away toward my truck, but the urge to speak further with him was too strong to resist! I have learned from experience when the Holy Spirit is speaking to me.
"Should you die within the next three years, will you go to heaven?" I asked. His answer was that he did not know. So, I engaged him in a transformational conversation, making the gospel easy for him to understand.
I could tell that he was dealing with guilt and shame because he mentioned awful things done as an American soldier during the war in Vietnam. Standing there and listening, I realized that he needed to hear the plight of all mankind -- that we were all born in sin and that we are not sinners because we sin, but rather we sin because we are sinners. “I also was a wretched sinner deserving of death.”
I told this stranger, “But someone rescued me by putting His life on the line, so I could escape death.” He seemed interested to hear more about that marvelous exchange where Jesus took my punishment of death and gave me His life.
We talked about the great hope of salvation that only Jesus can and did provide. “I now have eternal life through this same Jesus by admitting my sin and asking for forgiveness that only God can give,” I assured him. By paraphrasing John 6: 37, I assured him Jesus said He will accept anyone in any condition who comes to Him and promised He would not turn anyone away. All of this interaction took about 15 minutes because I wanted to keep it simple and not bore him by taking too much of his time. I was also convinced that I had already said enough.
From his countenance, I was persuaded that he had accepted the truth of my words. “Would you like to accept Jesus as your Savior and Lord?” I asked. He said yes and I told him that if he really meant it, with his permission I would lead him in a prayer of faith to confess his sin and to ask God to save him. As he repeated the prayer, we were in the open space outside the nursery. People were moving about and could observe us, but we did not care. We held hands, but I did not ask him to close his eyes, nor did I close mine. We just talked to God.
After we prayed, I congratulated him, saying that he had passed from death unto life. I encouraged him to find a church home in San Antonio where he could grow and serve the Lord and be a light to others.
I realized in that moment that God will use anyone who will obey the leading of the Holy Spirit. He also uses what we have, such as Moses's rod, David’s sling, Samson’s strength, Esther’s beauty, Rahab’s brothel, Paul’s zeal and intellect, Joseph and Daniel's abilities to interpret dreams – and even my love of gardening to draw someone to Himself. And it goes on and on and on. When we are open and responsive to the Holy Spirit, it is sometimes surprising and always gratifying what God will accomplish through us.
… make the most of every opportunity,
because the days are evil.
Ephesians 5:16
