Planting

Barry Meguiar, who is heard on the Ignite America feature on Faith Radio talks about helping to move a person who doesn't know God one step further to Jesus Christ.  Conversion experiences are different - while you might have some that come seemingly out of nowhere, others make a step-by-step journey to that moment of accepting Christ.  I think of King Agrippa, who was on the receiving end of Paul's testimony, as we find in Acts 26, where Paul had shared the details of his own conversion experience and its meaning; the text states:
25 But he said, "I am not mad, most noble Festus, but speak the words of truth and reason.
26 For the king, before whom I also speak freely, knows these things; for I am convinced that none of these things escapes his attention, since this thing was not done in a corner.
27 King Agrippa, do you believe the prophets? I know that you do believe."
28 Then Agrippa said to Paul, "You almost persuade me to become a Christian."
29 And Paul said, "I would to God that not only you, but also all who hear me today, might become both almost and altogether such as I am, except for these chains."

Paul's persistent witness and the work of the Holy Spirit on the heart of this official, Agrippa, prompted his declaration. This can remind us that we may not see a person actually accept Christ, but we can be involved in planting or watering seeds, because we don't know how God might be working on a person's heart - He just calls us to be faithful.

Matt Rife is described by Faithwire as an "oft-raunchy" comedian.  But as a story on the website relates, his grandfather's death seems to have prompted a spiritual search.  It states:

After admitting he has “never been a super religious person” and finds church “excruciatingly boring,” the 29-year-old celebrity told “History Hyenas” podcast hosts Yannis Papas and Chris Distefano he “want[s] to believe in God.”

Serious about exploring religion, the Netflix jokester said he was baptized “in a dude’s pool” in August. While Rife did not grow up in a Christian home, he said he decided to take the plunge after occasionally attending church services with friends.

The impetus of his exploration, Rife said, was his grandfather’s death two years ago.

“I’ve never been a super religious person, but, when my grandpa passed away, something hit me that I was like, ‘I’ll never see this person again,'” he reflected. “So something has to exist. I skew Christian, so I started going to church a little bit more.”

In a moment of candor, Rife also noted, "I hate church; I find it excruciatingly boring. But I want to believe in God, and it’s obviously a huge part of the process.”  Well, hopefully, that will change. And, Rife will go "all-in" for the Kingdom, because it sounds as if he may be exploring the edges.

Distefano recommended, as he had done with talk-show host Bill Maher, that he read the book, The Case for Christ, which details the journey of journalist and attorney Lee Strobel from atheism to Christianity; Distefano had told Maher that it served to, according to the article, "deepen his own relationship with Jesus."

God Reports noted:

When his grandfather died, it hit home. Grandpa was his first and biggest fan. His best friends helped him overcome the grief by joking around with him, which was somewhat healing.

Going to church was also healing. Rife wise-cracks about pastors getting new material from him for Sunday services.

While he seems to make fun of everything, behind the humor, there’s a human being who longs for eternity. He wants to see his grandfather again.

So Rife took a step of faith and got baptized, and he’s not ashamed of it.

The big question is "what comes next?"  While he says, "I skew Christian," and that he has been baptized, one cannot truly know what is in his heart.  But, what we can know is that a raunchy comedian, or anyone else who is truly seeking God, is not beyond His grace.   And, even though life may be like a joke to Rife sometimes, he does seem to be dead serious about pursuing a relationship with God through Jesus.

There's also the element of the influence of believers on those who are not. Paul talked about the stages of the pre-salvation work in a person's heart, and that some Christians will plant seeds, in the form of sharing God's Word and work, and others will water, reinforcing God's truth in a person's hearts and helping those seeds to grow.  For instance, on that podcast, as Faithwire notes, the co-hosts were part of a faith conversation.  I saw that the other day, watching a segment of the Joe Rogan podcast, in which another podcaster actually talk to him about his walk with Christ.  Canadian apologist Wesley Huff has received kudos for sharing his faith with Rogan, who is admittedly not a Christian.  But, isn't it interesting that the subject keeps getting addressed?

So, I believe God is at work in comedian Matt Rife's life - and he used a moment of crisis to begin to open his eyes and his heart.  When things in life don't go the way we think they should, that can provide a moment in which someone can pivot and consider the source of true hope.  We can be dedicated to being those hope-bringers to those who are seeking to fill the void in their hearts.