You probably won’t find yourself leading a revival or being at the forefront of a famous missionary effort; those things tend to happen to other people. Instead, like most of us, you are likely to be working to save the lost as part of the local church. Consequently, we are sometimes left with the feeling that we have not done as much as we were able.
On rare occasions I have heard preachers suggest: “The fruit you bear for Jesus is directly tied to the number of baptisms to their name.” If these men still exist, I pray that someone is brave enough to say, “Get behind me Satan!”
Granted, there are Christians who have done little or nothing to promote the cause of Christ at any level, but this is not the norm.
The Bible view is simple: We are servants of Christ through whom others come to believe—as the Lord has assigned to each his task. One plants the seed, another waters it, and God makes it grow (1Cor.3:5-6).
So, if we find ourselves either happy or disappointed in the “growth factor” of our evangelistic fruit bearing, we need to stop meddling in God’s department. Our focus, praise the Lord, lies solely with the planting and watering of the Gospel message.
However, this doesn’t necessarily alleviate that sense of “not doing enough.” We are left asking “How can I do more?” It is a good question, but I doubt that it is a helpful one. I think that a better question is: “Where from here?” And the answer being from Jesus himself: “Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”
Remember this: Each and every one of the good words you speak for Jesus are seed and rain for God’s increase. Just keep talking about Jesus.
John Staiger
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