Unite Southampton

I love the way Jesus taught about seeds. He taught about them but he also lived the same way. He seemed happy to drop a thought into someone's head and then leave them with it. Or to act kindly towards someone and let them think about what it meant. He trusted that his Father would use the seeds.

I was talking to my friend Dave Thorpe yesterday. He works with young people mainly using drama to help them explore issues such as drugs and bullying.

He told me that he was in Millbrook school recently helping a group to think about issues around being on the streets. One person played a homeless man and the others had to invent a character that might interact with him. Charlie, lets call him, approached the homeless man and offered him a cup of hot chocolate: we are from StreetLight, how are you doing. Anything we can do to help?

Dave pretended not to know about StreetLight to ask Charlie what it was about. Charlie explained they were a bunch of religious people who come out and help you, give you drinks and talk to you. They are really nice people.

Dave tells me he thinks God is working in Charlie. He is awaiting a trial at the moment and may well go to prison. But he thinks God is working with him.

As far as we can remember, we have never had anything but trouble from Charlie. He is a pain. He's one of the people that when see him in a group ahead your spirits fall a little.

Yet maybe God is working with him. Maybe he did notice all those times when he was making our lives hard and we kept trying to be kind to him. Maybe every time he laughed and mocked when we told him what we believed Jesus died for him and us, he was listening a little. Maybe the times he has met Mark or Pete from Millbrook Christian Centre were important, though they seemed not at the time. And now he has met Dave. Charlie might go to prison. I wonder who God might have waiting there for him?

Non of this is to highlight that we might have done well. It is for two reasons. Firstly to encourage people to keep sowing seeds with whoever they meet. Secondly it is to help me remember that God is good at surprising me.