“For in this case the saying is true: ‘One sows and another reaps.’ I sent you to reap what you didn’t labor for; others have labored, and you have benefited from their labor.”” (John 4:37–38, HCSB)

When it comes to sharing the Gospel, sometimes we benefit from the work of other people. As pastors and as churches, we like to take credit for salvations and baptisms. In reality, these things happen because there were many people involved in the process. Some people shared the Gospel with a lost person many times. Then that lost person heard it again at a Christian concert. Finally, that lost person is invited to church and the pastor shares a message. The Holy Spirit convicts the lost person and they come forward to make a confession to follow Christ. Was the effort of that one pastor? No. It was the labor of many different people that God used to bring someone to Christ.

In this particular statement, Jesus was probably trying to warn the disciples of pride. Many people like to take full credit for God’s work. Although in this case, it seemed to the disciples like what they were doing might not mean much. There seemed to be no followers coming to Christ while they were in Samaria. However, Jesus wanted to forewarn them about the dangers of spiritual arrogance. We have to learn as disciples that we can’t take all the credit when it comes to the outcome of sharing the Gospel with lost people. God gets the full credit. We just get to share in the labor.

Photo by Dương Trí on Unsplash