It’s not important who does the planting, or who does the watering. What’s important is that God makes the seed grow. The one who plants and the one who waters work together with the same purpose. And both will be rewarded for their own hard work. For we are both God’s workers. And you are God’s field. You are God’s building.
—1 Corinthians 3:7–9
Scripture:
Jesus used the parable of the farmer scattering seed to illustrate different reactions to the gospel message. In the parable, which is found in Matthew 13:1–23, a farmer scatters seed across his field. The seed lands on four different surfaces. The farming methods of Jesus’ day were quite different from the methods of today. Modern farmers prepare the ground, carefully lay the seed, and then use irrigation systems and sophisticated technology to nurture the resulting crop. In Jesus’ day, the process was a little more primitive.
Essentially, a farmer would reach into a sack, grab a handful of seed, and then throw it—to his left, to his right, in front of him, and behind him. Wherever the seed landed, it stayed. In Jesus’ parable, some of the seed fell on a footpath. Some of the seed fell on shallow, rocky soil. Some of the seed fell among thorns. And some of the seed fell on fertile soil. The plowing was done later. After the seed produced its yield, the farmer would harvest his crop.
Jesus compared the scattering of the seeds to the spreading of the gospel. “The seed that fell on good soil represents those who truly hear and understand God’s word and produce a harvest of thirty, sixty, or even a hundred times as much as had been planted!” (verse 23 NLT).
His words hit home with us and with all who engage in crusade or proclamation evangelism. At Harvest Ministries, we throw out the seed of the gospel in stadiums at our Harvest Crusades. We throw it out online. We throw it out over the radio. In other words, the seed gets scattered in countless areas. We have very little say in what happens to the seed after it’s scattered. God is the One who ultimately does the work of conversion. Jesus said, “No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him” (John 6:44 NKJV).
Some people are critical of our type of evangelism. But my question is, why wouldn’t we want to reach as many people as possible, using every form of media available? Our job is to reach as many as we can.
The apostle Paul wrote, “It’s not important who does the planting, or who does the watering. What’s important is that God makes the seed grow. The one who plants and the one who waters work together with the same purpose. And both will be rewarded for their own hard work. For we are both God’s workers. And you are God’s field. You are God’s building” (1 Corinthians 3:7–9 NLT).
There’s important work to be done. Let’s do it in the best way we know.
Reflection question: What means are available to you to reach people with the gospel? Discuss this with believers like you on Harvest Discipleship!
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