One person plants, and another waters, but God gives the increase. When one is sowing gospel seed, you never know what the Lord of the harvest will do. And sometimes you never see it until eternity.
In the first half of the 20th century, Southern Baptists sent missionaries to South Africa. In the tiny sugar mill town of Sezela, those missionaries were introduced to a Hindu couple. The man and the woman were ill. They had tried various remedies. They had been taken to the Hindu priests at the temple. As the missionaries shared Christ in the village, they met the sick husband and wife. The couple heard the gospel, and they were converted. Intercession was made, and God in His grace healed them. They were baptized and joined the local church. They would soon have a son. And that young man was saved. He, in turn, shared the gospel with a young lady who would become his wife. All of the lady’s family was converted. From this second couple came a son. After his conversion, he would hear the call of God to sell all and travel to America as a missionary.
Shaun Pillay is that young man’s name. After being a church planter in Connecticut for ten years, he joined the Olive Baptist Church staff in January, 2017.
The missionaries had no idea the seeds they planted would result in such a harvest. And never could they have imagined God would use their work to produce a missionary that would return to America with the gospel. They were planting and watering. God was giving the growth. The gospel is the power of God unto salvation.
We must all be sowing seeds and planting the gospel. Someone else will come with heaven’s water to harvest. Rest assured, God will give the increase. He is more concerned for souls than we are and chooses to use us in the process of evangelism and discipleship.
Sometimes we grow discouraged because we do not observe conversions. You may not know until heaven’s roll call what your planting and watering has accomplished. Live above “see level,” and work by faith. That’s what some missionaries did in Sezela, a place you never heard of. Trust me, God knows where it is, and He knows where you are. Plant and water!