A Time to Plant

A Time to Plant

1 Corinthians 3:6-8 "I planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but God made it grow. So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God, who makes things grow. The man who plants and the man who waters have one purpose, and each will be rewarded according to his own labor."

These verses are rich with meaning for Christians.

First, they remind us of the privilege and responsibility we have to plant seeds of faith in the lives of the people we know who don't know Jesus. However, what happens with those seeds is not in our control. God controls that. In this passage, Paul clearly says, "God makes the seeds grow." That takes some of the load off our shoulders, but we are still responsible for planting and watering those seeds.

Speaking of seeds, did you ever look at the seeds inside an apple? Good question, right? Well, when you cut an apple through the middle instead of from top to bottom, you will see a cool little star inside of it. Amazing, huh?! Each section of the star houses an apple seed. We can count the seeds inside that apple, but not how many apples will come from each seed.

Think about that in terms of the people in your neighborhood, workplace, or even your family. Here's where I am going with this - when our children see us reading our Bible, that's planting seeds. When people see and hear us pray in a restaurant, that's planting seeds. When we decline an invitation that would keep us from church, that's planting seeds. When people hear us give God credit for a blessing, that's planting seeds. When you tell someone about something God has done in your life, that's watering the seeds you have planted. When you share what you learned at church, that's watering the seeds. When you praise or thank God where those seeds were planted, that's watering the seeds. Someone else may even come along and water the seeds that you planted. We don't know what God has planned for each person we plant a little seed of faith in, but we do know that He will grow the seeds that we plant. And the desire would be that many apples come from each seed. I think they call that 'spreading the gospel.'

That's why it is so important to keep planting and to keep watering. So that God can keep doing what He does in the lives of those who don't know Him. 

I think back on all my years of teaching Sunday School and teaching in Christian Schools, and I often wondered if I made a difference in the spiritual lives of my students. Come to find out over the years, so very many of them came to know the Lord and are still steadfast, firm believers. I was planting seeds of faith in their lives all those many years ago, but God, in His timing, caused them to grow. We don't always get to see the results of our seed planting, and some take root and some don't, just like in a garden, but our call is to be obedient to the Gardener and just plant seeds and keep them watered.

So, each time you see a flower bloom, let it be a sweet reminder of the tremendous privilege we have to tell others that Jesus is alive, He loves them, and wants to have a relationship with them. We can pray for our friends and family that God will grow the little seeds we have planted into a faith that is as alive as Jesus. All that from one little seed. Imagine that!

You loosen the soil around people's hearts by being present in their lives, planting little seeds here and there, and watering them with your words and actions and a good dose of prayer. God will do the rest in His time, and we trust Him in that. But who knows that you might plant a seed in the next Billy Graham. Someone told Billy about Jesus. It could happen!

Pray that God will give you wisdom and consistency as you plant seeds of faith in the lives of those around you. Pray that He will grow those seeds so that many apples come from them. It's time to get out our gardening tools, my friends, and start planting.

Blessings.