What then is Apollos? What is Paul? Servants through whom you came to believe, as the Lord assigned to each. I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the growth. So neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but only God who gives the growth. The one who plants and the one who waters have a common purpose, and each will receive wages according to the labor of each. For we are God's servants, working together; you are God's field, God's building.

According to the grace of God given to me, like a skilled master builder I laid a foundation, and someone else is building on it. Each builder must choose with care how to build on it. For no one can lay any foundation other than the one that has been laid; that foundation is Jesus Christ.

1 Corinthians 3:5-11

In our zeal to serve the LORD, it is easy to think that it's our responsibility to produce results. This causes us to place too much faith in our ability and too little faith in the ability of God. Paul reminded the Corinthians that it is God who brings the seed to fruition. God will not do our work for us, and the results are not up to us. The best way to serve is to faithfully plant and water the seed, then trust God for the results.

We can plant the seed,

but only God can give the harvest.

Our Daily Bread - December 13, 2003