Corona Devo 1967

Do you have a green thumb?  Not so much with me...but my husband does.  He knows (and you may too) the steps and the processes and the patience involved in producing fruit or vegetables, or a bloom.  It takes time.  

The ground must be prepared.  The soil tilled--and possibly fertilized. Building in to the area of the planting builds up the probability of a productive harvest, and so it's worth the preparation and unhurried pre-processes.  

And then comes the seeds.  Planted (and spaced and buried) appropriately, and then watered.  Daily and carefully and (pardon the expression): religiously.  

Yes, a fruitful outcome requires much intended and purposeful effort.  But the harvest?  I have to give that credit to the Lord.  

He created all of these plants and species: we can plant and water, but God makes it grow.  

The peaches, nectarines, berries, basil, kale, and cukes in our yard: my husband planted and watered, but God made them grow.

~~~

It's not any different with people and their faith.  We can't (and won't) make anyone decide to ask Jesus into their heart and life, but our love and patience and kindness and sharing-of-God's-Truth can help to prepare their ground and till their soil to make ready for the Lord.  We can plant the seed and water it, or someone else may plant, and we might water, (etc), but it will always be the Lord, and only God, who makes things grow.

We have a part in the process of bringing others to faith in God, and we must enter in to that part.  We are called by Christ TO plant the seeds for Him.  

Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, (20) and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you.”  ~Matthew 28:19-20

But the Lord (alone) will produce the result.  This takes the (outcome) pressure off of us, but it places an urgency on the need for faith-preparation with others.  

Don’t you have a saying, ‘It’s still four months until harvest’? I tell you, open your eyes and look at the fields! They are ripe for harvest. (36) Even now the one who reaps draws a wage and harvests a crop for eternal life, so that the sower and the reaper may be glad together. (37) Thus the saying ‘One sows and another reaps’ is true.  ~John 4:35-37

~~~

Are we "in the faith process" with anyone as the "harvest" approaches?  I hope the answer is, "Yes".

~~~

We have known a certain man for eight years.  For eight years we have accepted him, lived-life in the same circles as him, sometimes shared God's Word and hope with him, and always, we have loved Him in an effort to help him to see how God loves him.  

He came to church with us this week for the first time.  He reached out and asked about joining us, and then he did.  

My husband and I chattered on the way to church about what sermon topic might be taught today.  But then I realized that it doesn't matter.  Or, more (spiritually) accurately: God will handle that part.  

We have shown this man the love of Christ over the years.  We have mentioned and shared God's Word with him over the years.  And now that he has made his way to church for the first time: well--all the rest is up to God.  We can't control what the message topic is, who will preach it, or how those hearing it will be affected, but God can, and He will.

We did our part in planting and watering the seed, and now God (alone) will make it grow:

For when one says, “I follow Paul,” and another, “I follow Apollos,” are you not mere human beings?  

(5) What, after all, is Apollos? And what is Paul? Only servants, through whom you came to believe—as the Lord has assigned to each his task. (6) I planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but God has been making it grow. (7) So neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but only God, who makes things grow. (8) The one who plants and the one who waters have one purpose, and they will each be rewarded according to their own labor. (9) For we are co-workers in God’s service; you are God’s field, God’s building. 

(10) By the grace God has given me, I laid a foundation as a wise builder, and someone else is building on it. But each one should build with care. (11) For no one can lay any foundation other than the one already laid, which is Jesus Christ.  ~I Corinthians 3:4-11  

Day to day and even year to year, we can't be sure if we are having an impact on someone's heart for Christ, but we should keep planting and watering, and even weeding, and trimming.  We can't know what God is doing within them, but we can be intentional about what we are doing to shine God's light into them.  The rest is between God and them.

~~~

One of our sons gained a new buddy this year.  He and the other young man have known each other for years, but God planted the seed of friendship and our son tilled the soil and then watered and tended the soil.  They became good friends.  Good enough that when our son asked his (recent) buddy to join a Bible study at our house, studying the Book of Romans in the Bible, this other young man said Yes, even though (to my knowledge), he had never read the Bible before. 

Planting seeds...Watering seeds.

Then our son asked him to go to a high school church conference this Summer.  It was not something he had done before, and church-stuff hadn't been a focus for them before.  But I answered the mom's questions as they debated the trip, and shared about my children's previous (positive) experiences at the conference.  Our son did the same with his friend.  

We tilled the soil.  We planted the seed, and we watered it.

And he went.  
And on the third day of the conference, he invited Christ to come into his heart and he accepted Jesus as his Lord and Savior.    

So neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but only God, who makes things grow.  ~I Corinthians 3:4

~~~

Seeds, plants, people, everything: God has made it all, and the end-product will always be for His glory because He is worthy of all glory, and honor and power (Revelation 4:11).

Whose soil can we till today?  Is there a seed that God has planted that needs watering in our family, friendgroup, or neighborhood?

Go for it.  And keep going for it.  

God knows the steps and the processes and the patience involved in producing fruit for Him.  It takes time.  But, eight years or eighty...it's worth the preparation and unhurried pre-processes, and the outcome (if it is a heart turned to Christ)---is a spiritual win for all involved, and God will take care of that part.

  

And in the meantime, as we till-the-soil and swab-the-decks for our Divine Creator, we can relax, because the Lord (alone) will produce the result.  This takes the (outcome) pressure off of us, but leaves it with the Lord.

I planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but God has been making it grow. (7) So neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but only God, who makes things grow. (8) The one who plants and the one who waters have one purpose, and they will each be rewarded according to their own labor. (9) For we are co-workers in God’s service; you are God’s field, God’s building.  ~I Corinthians 3:6-9  

Blessings,  

sarah  

https://sarahsundy04.blogspot.com