What’s Your Role?

While you may hear farmers brag about the harvest they had in a particular year, you willl seldom hear them claim responsibility for the crop’s growth. You may hear some talk about working harder or smarter by picking the best variety of seed for their region, supplying additional nutrients with fertilizer or irrigation, or using a variety of methods to suppress the growth of weeds. At the end of the crop year, the farmer is ultimately dependent on a power higher than himself to make the harvest plentiful.

The same can be said about evangelism. We are told in 1st Corinthians 3:5-8 “What, after all, is Apollos? And what is Paul? Only servants, through whom you came to believe - as the Lord has assigned each his task. I planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but God made it grow. So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God, who makes things grow. The man who plants and the man who waters have one purpose, and each will be rewarded according to his own labor.

The parable of the four soils (Luke 8:4-18) tells us that the farmer went out to sow his seed (the word of God) and that the type of soil (heart of the person) it fell on determined what would happen to the seed. Whether you are a sower/planter or a waterer to family and friends this Christmas season, the results are not in your hands. God has given each of us a job to do and has told us to give it all, including the glory of a bountiful harvest, to God. The question is do you trust God enough to leave it in His hands?

What’s on Your Christmas List?

I remember being so excited when the JCPenny and Sears Christmas catalogs would arrive at our house as a kid. I would look through them and pick out all sorts of things that would be on my list. As I’ve grown up, my list has gotten smaller and I’ve come to realize that I don’t “need” nearly as many things on my list as I thought I did.

If anyone has come to realize this, it would have to be people who God has asked to lead the Israelites over history. If you ask most folks in the military for what they need to obtain victory, they will talk to you about numbers of troops, technology and ammunition, and strategic locations. God used the physical example of Moses raising his staff to defeat the Amalekites (Exodus 17:8-16). God told Gideon that 22,000 troops were too many and slashed the troop allotment to a mere 300 men to defeat the Midianites (Judges 7). God told Joshua to march around the walls of Jericho, which were 25 feet tall by 20 feet thick, once a day for six days. On the seventh day they were told to march around the city seven times blowing their trumpets and the mighty walls collapsed.

So, we can talk about what God needs to give us in order for us to be joyful...or we can realize that we are made to serve the almighty God of the universe. Jesus told us “So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows you need them. But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness and all these things will be given to you as well” (Matthew 6:31-33). Have you looked at your wish list lately? Are you happy with what’s on it?

Wish Lists

Do you ever just let your mind wander and let your imagination be a Christmas catalog? Once we start down that road, it is real easy to keep going and going. Instead, we are to be happy with what we have been given. I know that it is easy to get wants and needs mixed up sometimes...a fan may want his team to win by 100, but all the team needs to win is one more point than their opponent. Similarly, a player may want to hit a home run every time he steps up the plate...but sometimes a walk will work just fine.

Don't get me wrong here...I'm not saying that nice things or wish lists are automatically bad. However, we can get our priorities out of line and place our wish lists in front of God's plan for our lives. Before we get self-righteous and say “I deserve this”, remember that “In his heart a man plans his course, but the Lord determines his steps (Proverbs 16:9)”. Jesus told his us God the Father “knows what you need before you ask him (Matthew 6:8)...and Paul told us that “God will meet all your needs according to his glorious riches in Christ Jesus (Philippians 4:19)”. Jesus also told the parable of the rich fool (Luke 12:16-21) where the rich man planned to do everything for his own benefit without consulting God...he wound up losing his life that very night. Let us be thankful for God giving us what we need and be in constant communication with Him to use what He has given for the benefit of His kingdom.