Good morning!
Text: 1 Corinthians 3-5; Psalm 97
When Paul writes to Corinth, there has been some competition among followers of different Christian leaders like Paul and Apollos. It is apparently unhealthy, and so the Word here reminds us we are part of the same team:
So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God who gives the growth. He who plants and he who waters are one, and each will receive his wages according to his labor. For we are God’s fellow workers. You are God’s field, God’s building. (1 Corinthians 3:7-9)
I am reminded of the Army-Navy sports rivalry I participated in when I was at Annapolis. It was pretty intense with chest pounding, boasting and pranks, but at the end of the day we knew we were on the same side. In the Church, we have different roles but we are never competitors. The end is always the same – the harvest of souls won for Jesus. Some of us plant the seed of the Word of God. Others water that seed in the form of loving relationships and good deeds. We are in it together, and when we work together, the fruit is bountiful. And the fruit always comes not from us, but from the Lord. For the King and for the Kingdom!
in Him, Mike