Lessons From The Garden – The Work

Given February 15, 2010

“It’s not important who does the planting, or who does the watering. What’s important is that God makes the seed grow.  The one who plants and the one who waters work together with the same purpose. And both will be rewarded for their own hard work.” 1 Corinthians 3:7-8 (NLT)

God started all this in the Garden of Eden.  There, He made the plants, “plants bearing seed according to their kind,”, Genesis 1:12, and the seeds which contained within them everything needed for the mature plant, including more seeds.  (Imagine a massive oak tree inside a tiny acorn.)  It’s really not important who starts the planting process but that it is started.  That’s where the work comes in.  The seed will not fulfill its purpose unless it’s planted and watered and, if someone does that, the seed will do what it’s supposed to do.  Afterward the one who did the work will get the reward of a bountiful harvest.

There are three ways we can look at this spiritually. The seed of Jesus is planted in us when we accept Him as Savior and we must do the “work” of watering and nurturing with God’s Word, prayer, fellowship and works.  If we do those things, the seed will develop and grow in us producing good fruit.  Another way is that the witnessing we do as Christians plants a seed in others but someone else does the watering and gets to see the results.  We may never know what the outcome was… but God knows.  Then there is the act of planting a seed of faith; giving something or helping someone and following it up with prayer and faith that God will cause it to grow.  Do you have your seeds ready?