I love the gospels’ regular use of seeds as metaphors because so much of our faith life is all about acting on belief alone, hoping that one day those actions will bear fruit.

Blind faith, some would call it.

However, I like to believe that living this way is the definition of hope!

On a recent Saturday night, on a long drive back from a speaking appearance, I had the most delightful hour-long conversation with a former confirmation student.

We haven’t regularly conversed in more than five years, and I was thrilled to hear all about their young adult life!

But the real meat of the conversation centered on faith. No sugary stuff here!

Why should we believe? What/who is God? What if I doubt? Why does God allow bad things to happen then? What about other faiths?

This wasn’t slow pitch softball here, my friends. My former student was hurtling 95 mph heaters through the center of the plate!

And these are the moments that electrify me as a pastor!

I love worship services for their tradition; I love offering communion because of its life-giving effects; baptisms are amazing! … All good stuff!

But when someone curious and full of seeking opens up for an honest conversation about faith? … Well, that feels like the veil between heaven and earth opens for the briefest of moments!

On this particular night, I feel like the Holy Spirit moved both of us! … The student is now borrowing some of my old seminary books, and I believe this conversation has some legs. I can’t wait to see what develops!

More importantly, however, this experience reminds me of Matthew 13:4-8 which reminds us that we can’t always control where the seeds we throw will land.

“4 And as he sowed, some seeds fell on a path, and the birds came and ate them up. 5 Other seeds fell on rocky ground, where they did not have much soil, and they sprang up quickly, since they had no depth of soil. 6 But when the sun rose, they were scorched, and since they had no root, they withered away. 7 Other seeds fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked them. 8 Other seeds fell on good soil and brought forth grain, some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty.”

However, maybe … just maybe! … if we throw around enough seeds of faith, and we do it often enough, we might unbelievably be fortunate enough to see one sprout!

And a former confirmation student will call out of the blue, after more than five years and say, “Pastor D, let’s talk about faith.” Amen.

Devlyn Brooks is the CEO of Churches United in Moorhead, Minn., and an ordained pastor in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America serving Faith Lutheran Church in Wolverton, Minn. He blogs about faith at findingfaithin.com, and can be reached at devlynbrooks@gmail.com.