As believers, we get a few things wrong sometimes. And I think one of those things is how we approach spreading the Gospel.

One of the most beautiful images from the Bible is the garden. And the concept of planting runs deeply throughout the overarching narrative. One day, the angels will reap, separting the wheat from the tares (Matthew 13:36-43). The angels will separate those who choose Christ and those who don’t. But who will do the planting?

God will, through us.

And that’s the important thing to remember. There’s no quota here. There’s no direct set of instructions requiring us to beat down somebody’s front door to see if they’ve chosen Jesus as their personal Lord and Savior. Instead, there’s a noted desire for friendship and relationship that’s underscored throughout the Bible.

Christ ate with the sinners. He got to know them. And He loved them so much that he expected good things from them, notably a change of heart and a moving away from their sinful desires.

But Jesus never rushes anything. And He never pats Himself on the back for “converting another one.” His goal is to gather His sheep, the souls God has placed in His hands.

And if we take a softer approach to this and think about planting, we’ll understand that sometimes seeds are sown but they don’t yield a crop until much later. And you might not be the farmer there to see it happen. That’s okay, because ultimately, this isn’t about you and me.

This is about bringing glory to God and working for His kingdom, not ours.

Ultimately, we can’t force someone to know Christ just like Christ never forces us to know Him. It’s a gentle knock at our door, not a banging of fists. And just like the phrase, “You can bring a horse to water, but you can’t make him drink,” leading people to Jesus is one thing but their accepting Him is quite another.

All we can do is plant those seeds and pray they will grow.