John 3:2 He came to Jesus at night and said, “Rabbi, we know you are a teacher who has come from God. For no one could perform the miraculous signs you are doing if God were not with him.”

Nicodemus was speaking to Jesus as one teacher to another, and as such, he knew the real thing when he saw it. Jesus had established His credentials right from the beginning of His ministry with numerous and diverse miracles, and Nicodemus acknowledged that. Jesus spoke to him appropriately for who and what he was, not in parables but with deep, fundamental truth. This left Nicodemus somewhat out in left field, particularly at first, but I’m pretty confident he didn’t forget the words he heard, even if he didn’t understand them at first. It took three full years from this encounter before Nicodemus had the courage to act on what he heard that night, but when he did, it was in the most difficult of circumstances, and he was willing to sacrifice everything to acknowledge Jesus. We don’t know how the words we speak will impact people. Sometimes it seems like there is little if any comprehension, but we need to remember that if we are speaking God’s words after Him, those words will not be fruitless, but will accomplish that for which He sent them. (Isaiah 55:11) We may never see that fruit ourselves, but we need to trust God and act and speak in obedience to Him.

This truth is of vital importance to me. If I counted on immediate response, I would have left the ministry years ago! The better I understand this truth, the less I will be brought down by people’s response, or the lack thereof. As in the parable of the sower (Matthew 13, Mark 4, Luke 8), I need to work not only in communicating God’s Word, but also in preparing people’s hearts to receive it. As was written in the latest issue of Japan Harvest Magazine, often it is the little gestures that break the soil so that the seed can enter. It has rightly been said that people don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care. It’s important for everyone who is trying to communicate the Gospel to remember this, and doubly so in a cross cultural context.

Father, since I have received my credentials from You (2 Corinthians 3:4-6), help me trust You to validate them, just as You did with Jesus. Help me be faithful in all stages of the process, preparing the soil of people’s hearts, planting the Word, and then nurturing them to grow strong as Your disciples. Help me trust You when it seems like the harvest is a long time coming, but help me also grow in listening to You so as to be more and more effective in all You have for me to do, for Your glory. Thank You. Praise God!