“I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the increase. 7 So then neither he who plants is anything, nor he who waters, but God who gives the increase.” 1 Cor. 3:6-7
She was slim. Slight. Some would call her frail. Small build. Petite. Perhaps because she had chosen to be thin. Maybe not. She was homeless. She may not have had much to eat. Often enough anyway. Drugs could have played a role too. And alcohol. Only God knew her struggles. I knew when I met her she had plenty of them. She was in tears quickly into our conversation. I had done most of the talking. About myself. And about how I had been totally hopeless, totally broken, beyond human repair. I shared bits and pieces of my story. She could identify. Greatly. Her tears confirmed it. How blessed I was to share how I had found hope in the Lord Jesus Christ, and how God had drastically and dramatically and magnificently changed my life. She had been delighted to meet my wheelchair dogs. The Lord had once again used them to introduce me to someone in need. I walked away after giving her a Gospel tract, hugging her, telling her I loved her. In awe of the Lord once again, at how He sends me to people who need to hear about Him, and humbled by how awesome it feels to share about Christ to a world in dire need of Him.
One day later, I ran into her again. With the wheelchair dogs. Her stare was blank. As though she were looking through me, past me, as though she couldn’t see me. She had forgotten me. Forgotten meeting me. Talking to me. Hearing me. Forgotten even the dogs. Her friend tried to remind her of the dogs. To no avail. She may have been in a drug-induced memory lapse. Or not fully woken up yet. But nothing jarred her memory. It was as though I had never talked to her about the Lord Jesus Christ. How sad, how disappointed, how frustrated, how discouraged, how grieved I may have been that my new friend had forgotten me already. That, most importantly, she had forgotten the message of Christ I had borne to her. Not so very long ago I might have been. But I have learned a lesson, one I am now compelled to share with you.
The Lord calls His followers to sow seeds. Sowing seeds of the Lord Jesus Christ, of the Gospel message, of the Word of God, the Bible, of love, hope, mercy, peace, trust, faith, God’s promises, salvation, forgiveness, provision, compassion, encouragement, prayer, etc., all in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. The scripture above makes clear regarding sowing the Gospel message that one person sows, or plants, one waters, and GOD GIVES THE INCREASE. Who gets the glory? NOT the sower. NOT the one who waters. GOD WHO GIVES THE INCREASE GETS THE GLORY. Regardless of what God calls us to sow into someone’s life, and when, and where, and how, and to whom, WE NEED TO OBEY THE LORD AND LEAVE THE RESULTS IN HIS HANDS. We may or may not ever see the fruit borne of what He calls us to sow into someone’s life, and we may never know if any fruit is borne at all, but WE NEED TO OBEY THE LORD AND LEAVE THE RESULTS IN HIS HANDS. And keep on walking, keep on moving, forward, as the Spirit of God leads, sowing the Gospel message, and whatever else He calls us to sow, into the lives of those to whom He sends us. FOR HIS GLORY!