By Andrew Williams
The Living Gospel (Week 4: Living a Shareable Life)
Opening Prayer
God, replace our fear of man with a holy love for man, and a deep trust in Your sovereign power to save.
Today’s Scripture (NLT)
1 Corinthians 3:6-7
“I planted the seed in your hearts, and Apollos watered it, but it was God who made it grow. It’s not important who does the planting, or who does the watering. What’s important is that God makes the seed grow.”
Perhaps the single greatest obstacle that keeps us from sharing our story is the fear of rejection. What if they get angry? What if they think I’m weird? What if I ruin the friendship? These are real fears, but Paul gives us a perspective that sets us free.
He uses a farming analogy. Some people are called to plant the seed (sharing the Gospel for the first time). Others are called to water the seed (continuing the conversation, answering questions). But only God can make the seed grow. The salvation of a soul is a divine miracle, and it is not our responsibility.
This is incredibly liberating. Your job is not to save anyone. Your job is simply to be a faithful seed-planter or a faithful seed-waterer. The results are up to God. Whether a person accepts or rejects the message does not determine your success or failure. Your success is found in your faithful, loving obedience to share. This frees you from the pressure of having to orchestrate a certain outcome and allows you to simply share out of love.
Disciples’ Life Tip: Identify your biggest fear when it comes to sharing your faith. Write it down. Now, verbally surrender that fear and the outcome of your conversations to God, saying, “Lord, my job is to be faithful. Your job is to save. I trust you with the results.”
Closing Prayer: Father, thank You that the burden of salvation is not on my shoulders. Free me from the fear of rejection and fill me with a courageous and loving desire to faithfully plant and water the seeds of the Gospel. Amen.
