WATCHWORD:
When we read God’s Word, sometimes the message seems harsh and hard to understand. This passage is no different, yet the message speaks to us.
1 Dear brothers and sisters, when I was with you I couldn’t talk to you as I would to spiritual people. I had to talk as though you belonged to this world or as though you were infants in Christ. 2 I had to feed you with milk, not with solid food, because you weren’t ready for anything stronger. And you still aren’t ready, 3 for you are still controlled by your sinful nature. You are jealous of one another and quarrel with each other. Doesn’t that prove you are controlled by your sinful nature? Aren’t you living like people of the world? 4 When one of you says, “I am a follower of Paul,” and another says… “I follow Apollos,” aren’t you acting just like people of the world? 5 After all, who is Apollos? Who is Paul? We are only God’s servants through whom you believed the Good News. Each of us did the work the Lord gave us. 6 I planted the seed in your hearts, and Apollos watered it, but it was God who made it grow. 7 It’s not important who does the planting, or who does the watering. What’s important is that God makes the seed grow. 1 Corinthians 3:1-7
Meditation:
If It’s Not There
My friend had just finished reading her morning devotional, and was thrilled with how it spoke to her. She commented that she wished her friend would read it. I suggested she get her the book, but she said the friend probably would not read ‘that stuff’ and in fact her eyesight wasn’t all that good. I persisted, saying there are large print devotionals that would be helpful to her, so, plant the seed. The ‘seed’ can’t grow, if it’s not there.
The greatest credential a person can have in reaching out to hurting friends is ‘friend’. I encouraged her to continue doing what she was doing with her contacts, her long telephone talks, etc. Even as I said that, I realized that I wasn’t only speaking to her, I was reminding myself that I carried those same credentials, ‘friend’, ‘dad’, ‘grandpa’. Most of us have a PHD – Prepared, Helpful and Devoted, but it has no value unless we use it!
Jesus’ parables are stories like the one about the Sower, the scatterer of seeds. The seed is the Word of God, and when planted on ‘good soil’, or the receptive heart, the life-bearing seed grows steadily and produces gifts without any human effort. This is the unseen work of God – a work of grace. Only God makes the seed grow, but it must be planted, and in that regard, we are all farmers.
For my friend, this all started with her reading the devotional and sensing inspiration that touched her heart. She realized the Word applied to her hurting friend. Then it was a matter of getting the Word, the seed, to her friend and realizing that while she could provide the inspiration through the devotional it would need to be God to cause that seed to grow. But she had to do her part.
In our life stories, there is a whole packet of God’s seeds. We don’t always have those written in story form or in devotionals or books, but they are written all over our lives. Some of the stories are entitled ‘regrets’, for even in regrets we are growing. Some of those stories are entitled ‘loss’, and even in loss we learn, and we grow through our grief. The experience equips us in unique ways to reach out in empathy to others. Some of our stories are entitled ‘victory’, and it brings joy and happiness to our lives and it’s that joy and happiness that we need to share. Planting more seeds.
Can you count the seeds that God has planted in you? Not really, but there they are with you need them in living God’s story. Each one of us should be praying that the seeds God scatters in our lives would find good soil. Our role is to see that the seed is there, so it can grow. Amen? Amen!
Written by Stan Escott at the inspiration of the Holy Spirit.
Closing Prayer:
Dear God, at the start of each day, help us to recognize you above all else. Enlighten the eyes of our heart that we might see you, and notice how you’re at work through our lives. Give us wisdom to make the best choices, fill us with a desire to seek after you more than anything else in this world. Let your Spirit and power breathe in us, through us, again, fresh and new. Thank you that you are greater than anything we may face in our day. Thank you that your presence goes with us, and that your joy is never dependent on our circumstances, but it is our true and lasting strength, no matter what we’re up against. We ask that your peace lead us, that it would guard our hearts and minds in you. We ask for your grace to cover our lives this day. We love you Lord…we need you. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.
