A Hand in the Harvest

Photo by rams_on from stock.xchg

We generally discuss discipleship in terms of the people around us with whom we have permanent or semi-permanent relationships - discipling relationships.  We have talked a lot about creating disciples of our children, our spouses, our friends, our family members, our co-workers, etc.  But, what about encounters we have with people once, maybe twice, and never see them again?  Does that mean that we have no impact on the people we meet in those encounters?  No!

In 1 Corinthians 3, Paul writes a letter to the Church and its leaders, explaining that the Lord uses each one of us for a specific purpose, but that it is God himself who does the hard work:

"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.  I planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but God has been making it grow.  So neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but only God, who makes things grow." (1 Cor. 3:5-7, NIV)

Or, as Breen and put it in Building a Discipling Culture, "Paul said that some plant, some water, and God gives the harvest.  In a passing relationship, you may be called on to plant a seed or to water what has already been planted.  Just because you do not see the end result does not mean you are not a vital part of the process." (Ch. 13)

Whew, that takes the pressure off a bit, doesn't it?  We don't have to take on the responsibility of bringing everyone we encounter into a personal relationship with Jesus.  God alone has the ultimate power to do that.  We may just have the privilege of lending a hand in preparing for God's harvest.  Whether we are planting a seed with a well-placed word, watering the new shoots with timely encouragement, fertilizing the growing plant with pertinent scripture references, or helping keep weeds at bay by speaking truth, we can perform the task God has given us.  No matter how small it seems to us, that task may be vital to the bountiful harvest He will ultimately reap in that person.

Do you look for opportunities in your everyday to perform such a task?

- Katrina