Battle Lines: A Harvest Delayed is Not a Harvest Denied
Some years ago, Captain Bill Crabson was the corps officer in Morgantown, West Virginia. In the course of his duties, he sought to have some public service announcements made at the local radio station, WAJR. The radio announcer who helped him was Jim Turner, a cynical man whose father had taught him that The Salvation Army was not worth respecting. And he fully agreed. He ridiculed the captain and the Army along with the station staff, fearing no repercussions since he was living a self-confessed ungodly life.
Later, Turner hosted a talk show in the northeast part of the country. He loved to jeer at Christianity, fueled by the unfortunate news of several scandals by Christian radio and television personalities at the time. But somewhere along the way, one of the radio preachers had planted a seed in him. When the thought came to mind, he pushed it back.
He bought a Bible but set it aside. He wasn’t ready to give up the life he was living. Once in a while, the “Jesus matter” would crop up, but he would push it back. Nothing was going to interfere with the life he was living.
Then in 1998 someone invited him to church. He responded, “I am not in the market for a religious sales pitch,” but he went anyway. He was shocked to find he liked the music. He liked the preacher’s sermon. And there the “Jesus matter” was front and center in his mind again. A month later he accepted Christ as his Savior.
It wasn’t long before Turner was involved in prison ministry, Christian writing, and doorto- door soul-winning. But there was unfinished business. There was that Salvation Army officer he had ridiculed years ago, that representative of Christ and His mission that he had so despised. This new life in Christ was wonderful, but Jim knew that in some way his journey toward faith started when he saw a genuine witness for Christ who humbly and sincerely overlooked his cynical attitude and treated him well. Jim felt he had to find Captain Crabson, tell him what had happened, how he had found Christ, and ask for forgiveness for the way he had acted.
By now, fifty years had passed. What were the chances he could find someone he knew half a century ago in West Virginia? But through the wonders of the internet, he began exploring, first writing an initial email to ask, “Are you the guy?”, assuring the now Lt. Colonel Crabson that he was not a scamster.
When Lt. Colonel Crabson informed him he was indeed that same Captain Crabson from Morgantown, Jim Turner poured out his story.
The good colonel has shared the story with us to remind us that a harvest delayed is not a harvest denied. We sow seeds, not knowing when or where they might bloom. Sometimes we are privileged to see the results: a head bows in prayer; someone kneels at the altar. Sometimes we hear, like in this instance, at a much later time. But the work of faith is not tallied on a calendar, marked out on a ledger, or keystroked as data entry. So, we keep sowing, remaining faithful and leaving it in God’s hands for Him to do what only He can do. In His time.