What We Have Because Of Other People

What benefits are you enjoying because of someone else’s hard work?

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. The man who plants and the man who waters have one purpose, and each will be rewarded according to his own labor. For we are God's fellow workers; you are God's field, God's building.

By the grace God has given me, I laid a foundation as an expert builder, and someone else is building on it. But each one should be careful how he builds. For no one can lay any foundation other than the one already laid, which is Jesus Christ.

1 Corinthians 3:6-11

Today as I was walking out in my garden I was struck by how much I have because of other people. You see when we moved into this house it had six grape vines. The woman who owned the house, two owners before us, planted them. This year they are each trying to outdo the other in the amount of grapes they produce and the ever reaching leafy vines. They are just amazing! Even more amazing is that the only thing that I did was to water and prune. I’m reaping the benefits of someone else’s work and it’s really nice! “but God made it grow.”

This May my mother-in-law gave me a whole bunch of potted plants … like a truck load. The problem was that she lives in Waco, TX and I live in Las Cruces, NM. So my wonderful husband rented a trailer and he and my son drove out to TX and transported the whole thing back here. Then they spent the next 2 weeks helping me digs holes (well they did the digging … I did the directing … directing’s hot sweaty work, don-cha know ;) So over the past month I’ve been watering and pruning and watering … and more watering … You did know that Las Cruces is in the desert?! “but God made it grow.”

Now what I didn’t know was that most of the plants she sent me are flowers, or flowering bushes, or flowering trees. (I’m just learning how to grow things.) And it has been the most amazing month to see the plants survive the transplant and to sprout new stems and leaves … and the biggest delight of all … the blooms. I’ve had yellow irises, red bulbs of some kind, a gorgeous white trumpet flower thingy with 7 blooms all in a circle on top of a very long stem, delicate lavender bulbs and yellow ones too, and currently there are these blue/lavender flowers covering this bush-like plant in one of the pots. It is so amazingly beautiful! Once again, I’m reaping the benefits of someone else’s work.

Larry’s mom is the one who planted them and raised them up, I just moved them to a new location and watered and pruned.

“but God made it grow.”

My neighbor has the most gorgeous trumpet vine in her backyard and guess what? The other day I noticed that I have a very small trumpet vine growing near our shared fence. I promptly moved my soaker hose right near it. I want to take advantage of that vine. You see I hope to benefit from her hard labor and enjoy the excess plant in my yard. “but God made it grow.”

Now my husband and I have planted some things on our own. Those plants took a bit more work, a lot longer watering, a lot of digging, a lot of wondering if it would work. But today we are reaping the benefit of our own hard work. Perhaps someone later on down the way will enjoy the benefit of our hard work. “but God made it grow.”

God encourages us to do everything to the very best of our ability and He tells us to bless one another. I want to be thankful for the work people before me have done. I want to truly enjoy it and not take it for granted. But I also want to labor diligently so that those who come behind me will have something to be thankful for. Hopefully they will be blessed by the work of my hands. I desire to work in such a way that God will get the glory because “God made it grow.”

Find Us Faithful

Oh may all who come behind us find us faithful

May the fire of our devotion light their way

May the wisdom that we leave

Lead them to believe

And the lives we live inspire them to obey

Oh may all who come behind us find us faithful