It’s funny how we as Christians feel like we do so much. We sing in the choir, we are on the usher board, we go to the programs, we say all the right prayers, we lead the bible study groups, go on mission trips and even sometimes we are the leading the churches. We always want to be the ones recognized for what we do. We want to say oh, I lead them to Christ or I held this position, so it’s me who did this and did that. We sometimes even get caught up in the number of how many people come to church today or how many were saved on this mission trip.
Sadly enough when I first left for the race that’s how I thought. I wanted to keep track of how many people were saved and how many I personally lead to Christ. It was all about numbers my first month, I was on a mission to change the world. I wanted everyone I came in contact with to know God and to be saved by his amazing grace, but I didn’t want them to wait. They had to do it right then or I felt like I had done something wrong. Then one day I was reading 1 Corinthians 3 and a few verses stuck out to that I had never noticed for some reason.
1 Corinthians 3:4-9
4 For whenever someone says, “I’m with Paul,” and another, “I’m with Apollos,” are you not unspiritual people? 5 What then is Apollos? And what is Paul? They are servants through whom you believed, and each has the role the Lord has given. 6 I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the growth. 7 So then neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but only God who gives the growth. 8 Now the one planting and the one watering are one in purpose, and each will receive his own reward according to his own labor. 9 For we are God’s coworkers.
It was clear as day, but for some reason before I hadn’t allowed myself to understand what Paul was trying to say. Nothing I’m here doing has anything to do with me, but it has everything to do with God. In John 14:6 Jesus tells his disciples “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me and in Revelations 3:20-21, Jesus says, Listen! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and have dinner with him, and he with Me. 21 The victor: I will give him the right to sit with Me on My throne, just as I also won the victory and sat down with My Father on His throne.
As Christians we are merely servants doing as God has called us to do. He has and is doing the hard part. He has died on the cross for us and not only that but tells us that HE STANDS at the door and Knocks. The King of kings Stands and waits patiently for us to answer his calling. 1 Corinthians 3:7 says, “So then neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but only God who gives the growth.” So I don’t have to feel like I’m done something wrong if a person doesn’t come to Christ after me talking to them, because I planted a seed or I even watered one that was already planted. Jesus will continue knocking at the door of their hearts. That’s so comforting to me; because that takes the stress that I was trying to put on myself off. I’ll just continue to pray that God’s will be done and the rest I’ll leave to him to do.
