God Made It Grow

"I planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but God made it grow. So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God, who makes things grow" (I Corinthians 3:6-7).

In this passage, Paul is trying to calm some disagreements and conflicts among the Christians in Corinth. They were bickering because some of them said they followed Paul, and others said they followed Apollos.

What struck me when I read this passage is how we sometimes look toward Christian leaders and ministers for spiritual strength and guidance, when we should be looking to God first. Don't get me wrong--God put those men and women in their positions to help us look to God. But we must be careful not to forget God Himself. These men and women are not the ones we should magnify. They are to be honored, certainly. But they are signposts, pointing us the way to God. They are not the destination. A relationship with God Himself is.

And of course, this is a good passage for Christians in leadership positions. You may do some awesome work, and you honor God when you do it. I know He looks down on you and thinks, "Man, he's doing a great job for Me, and that makes Me feel great!" But God is always the one that makes the seeds that you plant grow.

Another lesson we can all derive from this is that we need to be willing to grow. God wants us to grow; we just need to let Him do His work in us.