The Garden

          Have you ever wondered what your place was in the scheme of things?  Every Spring, my Father would set out to place a garden at our home in Indiana.  We never had a tiller, nor did anyone come to plow it for us.  Dad used a shovel and foot by foot would overturn the soil.  Then he would start the raking over and over and over again until the dirt was smooth.  Soon, he would begin laying out the rows with a string on two stakes, one at either end of the plot of freshly turned soil.  He used a hoe to form the trench and then carefully put in the seeds.  They were covered and watered.  Soon, my part was visible.  You see, I had to start pulling out the weeds which would come up quickly.  Weeding was a process that seemed to be eternal in that there were always weeds present in the garden.  That was my part in the scheme of the garden plot.  If I had not done my part the young plants would all be choked by the weeds and no fruit would appear, or at least it would be reduced size and quantity.   First Corinthians 3:6 says, " I have planted, Apollos watered; but God gave the increase."   
       We can think about the scheme of things in regard to the church, the Body of Christ, and find out that we have an important part in that particular ministry.  Paul talked about the planting and then the eloquent preacher, Apollos, would water the new crop but it would be God that would give the increase.  The increase was going to be spiritual growth and in some cases it would be new believers.  We can ask the question, "Which job is the most important?"  Both are equally important.  If there was no planting there would be no seeds to sprout and no plants to appear.  Equally true, if there was no watering of the garden plot, there would be no increase.  So, both are equally important and dependent upon each other.  However, we notice that in the scriptural passage, it was God who gave the increase.  I have seen tomato plants that were covered with beautiful leaves and not a single tomato.  They may even have had blossoms but for some reason, no fruit appeared.  You see, it is up to God to give the final increase.  He makes sure the garden produces the fruit and that the ministry also provides the fruit.  We sometimes want to forget God in the process of the ministry, but when you do that, you are headed for trouble.  Your job in the scheme of things is but one phase of the process and in the end, it is God Who determines the fruit.  You might be the one who prepares the soil, or who plants the seed or who waters it from time to time, but it is going to be God Who does the final work and provides the increase.   Praise God that He allows us to be a part of His Garden.