Plants and water. They go hand in hand, right? Without water there will be no plant. But the water doesn’t give the plant life. It just gives it the nourishment to grow.
I was belly aching to my husband one day this week. I never have had or taken the opportunity to actually talk to a person one on one and have them accept Jesus as their savior. Being the great guy that he is he encouraged me by reminding me what the bible says.
1 Corinthians 3:6-9 My job was to plant the seed in your hearts, and Apollos watered it, but it was God, not we, who made it grow. The ones who do the planting or watering aren’t important but God is important because he is the one who makes the seed grow. The one who plants and the one who waters work as a team with the same purpose. Yet they will be rewarded individually, according to their own hard work. We work together as partners who belong to God. You are God’s field,God’s building – not ours.
These scriptures totally brought me back to reality. Yes, I would love to have that conversation. But I may be the planter. God may have chosen me to plant the seeds into hearts. It may be someone else’s job to water the seed. And then God causes it to grow.
In the Message is goes like this: Who do you think Paul is, anyway? Or Apollos, for that matter? Servants, both of us—servants who waited on you as you gradually learned to entrust your lives to our mutual Master. We each carried out our servant assignment. I planted the seed, Apollos watered the plants, but God made you grow. It’s not the one who plants or the one who waters who is at the center of this process but God, who makes things grow. Planting and watering are menial servant jobs at minimum wages. What makes them worth doing is the God we are serving. You happen to be God’s field in which we are working.
I love the fact that it mentions we work as a team with the same purpose. Plant, water, grow. What is the one other thing needed for a plant to grow? That’s right! Light. Without sunlight a plant can’t exist.
Who is our light? The creator of light? That’s right. Jesus. So without joining him and working as a team there will be no growth.
John 8:12 When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”
How awesome is that? The creator of light sheds the rays to finish nourishing what we’ve already started. We just get to sit back then and watch it grow.
The word says I have been given a servant assignment. And for now it’s seems my assignment is to plant. So I will plant with dedication. And I pray I do it with zeal knowing that the end of time is near.
Has God called you to plant? Has God called you to water? Don’t worry about the growth. That’s God’s part. He’s got it covered.
Love and blessings to all of you!
Melanie
That is a beautiful sentiment.