Working in the social sector with at-risk communities means I get the immense joy of seeing tangible fruit on a regular basis. The child who couldn't read now knows his letters and is stringing together short sentences. The one who was so hungry she was filling her pockets with leaves to eat now sits through our morning program relaxed, knowing she will be fed a hot meal before she goes home. 

Spiritual fruit is much harder to see, especially working with small children. I often remind our team that our job is to plant seeds. Our weekly Bible stories give the kids information about who God is. The safe and loving space we’ve created for them is showing them how followers of Jesus should live. 

Our call right now is to plant, and as much as we ache to see spiritual fruit, that is out of our hands. 

In the early church in Corinth, divisions were starting to appear as people rallied behind different teachers. Paul steps in to correct the problem by reminding the people that these teachers are merely servants, and it is God alone who causes fruit to grow. But I love that as he’s making this point, he points out the process of growth, and how different people play different roles. “I planted the seed,” Paul says, “Apollos watered it, but God has been making it grow” (1 Corinthians 3:6). 

It’s not a competition to Paul. He has a role, Apollos has a role, but ultimately anything they do is dependent on God Himself to bring results. 

So we continue planting little seeds, praying the soil they land in would be rich and that others will come after to water. And we take encouragement that if we are working in the power of the Spirit, our work is not in vain.