Mona Planted, I Watered...

This week a guest, named Johnny, showed up at Redeemer for the Advent midweek service. Immediately I recognized him. I had met him on campus at Golden West College - our local community college where Redeemer sets up a table once a month for on campus outreach. We had talked over a month ago about the church and cars and a whole host of other things. And then, low and behold, who comes through the line at the end of the service, but Johnny. The blessed irony of this all was that even though I had invited him to church and join us for services, that was not the reason he showed up this particular Wednesday evening. Another friend of ours at Redeemer, Mona, had invited him. The temptation for me was clear...rejoice in my efforts to reach people on campus and look at all I've done...it works! But of course that would be foolish. This whole event demonstrates quite clearly that neither I nor Mona nor anyone else is really the one giving any growth or life (And a side note should be mentioned here since this event flies in the face of the absolute foolishness and rubbish known as the Church Growth Movement). For Mona planted, I watered, but God gave the growth. From our perspective, you couldn't have predicted how Johnny showed up last Wednesday night at Advent services. But then again, from the Holy Spirit's perspective, it's just another day's work through the Word that goes out and does not return void or empty. Thus, any boasting is made by boasting in the Spirit who works through Christ's Word from tables on campus to friend's conversations to the midweek services to wherever Christ comes to us by water, word, bread and wine.

Who then is Paul, and who is Apollos, but ministers through whom you believed, as the Lord gave to each one? ⁶ 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. ⁸ Now he who plants and he who waters are one, and each one will receive his own reward according to his own labor.
⁹ For we are God’s fellow workers; you are God’s field, you are God’s building. ¹⁰ According to the grace of God which was given to me, as a wise master builder I have laid the foundation, and another builds on it. But let each one take heed how he builds on it. ¹¹ For no other foundation can anyone lay than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ.