About a year or two ago I read about a revival that broke out in a mining town in one of the Virginia’s I believe. One of the young men really lead was a key figure in the revival and said, “This is easy. You just have to do what the Bible says.”
And yes, it’s true. When we do what the Bible says we tend to get more results.
But the harvest is always a team effort. And some on the team we will never meet.
Whenever their is fruitfulness it’s because someone plowed, planted and tended the crop. Whether they have been there in person or in prayers, there’s always more to the picture. We can never take full credit.
“Thus the saying, ‘one sows and another reaps’ is true. I sent you to reap what you have not worked for. Others have done the hard work, and you have reaped the benefits of their labor.” (Jn 4:37-38).
Others have done the hard work.
Sometimes a missionary will spend years and his job will be removing rocks in the field to prepare it for planting. There are not amazing stories of mass conversions. There are not obvious results to the work. It is hard.
Decades later a new missionary comes on the field and gets a great harvest. He may think it’s him or his faith or the way he does things.
But Jesus reminds us the team is much bigger.
It keeps us humble.