“I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the growth. So neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but only God who gives the growth. The one who plants and the one who waters have one purpose, and each will receive wages according to their own labor. For we are God’s coworkers, working together; you are God’s field, God’s building.”
-1 Corinthians 3:6-9
Today’s episode covers familiar ground, even if you’ve never seen it. “The Changing of the Guard” is basically a version of It’s a Wonderful Life. It’s even a Christmas episode! Yes, I’ve managed to sneak Christmas into our Halloween devotions.
Professor Fowler, an aging literature teacher at a prep school, is forced into retirement after 51 years of teaching. Looking back, he becomes convinced that he has failed to make a meaningful difference in his students’ lives. In his despair, he plans to take his own life on Christmas Eve (I told you the two stories were similar).
Before he can act, a ringing bell draws him into his classroom. There he encounters the apparitions of former students who, one by one, explain the deep impact he had on them. His love of poetry and the convictions he taught helped shape their courage, compassion, and choices. Fowler is allowed to see something that most of us only glimpse: how his faithfulness has continued to bear fruit in other people’s lives.
We rarely get such a clear picture of the impact of our work within the church. We teach Sunday School to children who will grow up and move away. We visit people in the hospital, where sometimes recovery comes and sometimes it doesn’t. We share a meal with someone going through a difficult season, then lose touch without ever knowing how things turned out. We offer what we can, but we don’t always get to see what becomes of it.
Paul gives us a helpful way to understand this work. The Corinthians were dividing themselves into groups according to which leader they followed. Some claimed allegiance to Paul, others to Apollos. Paul responds with an image from the garden: “I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the growth.”
Both had work to do. Paul helped establish the community, and Apollos helped nurture it. Their work belonged to a shared purpose, and the life growing among them came from God. Neither could claim it as his personal accomplishment.
That doesn’t make their labor meaningless. Paul calls them “God’s coworkers.” What an extraordinary thing to be called! We have a part in what God is doing, even though we cannot control the outcome or take credit for all that follows.
There is some freedom in that. We can teach the class, make the visit, prepare the meal, and trust that God is at work beyond what we can measure. A conversation we barely remember may stay with someone for years. A kindness may become the example they follow when someone else needs help.
Most of us won’t have a classroom full of ghosts explain the difference we’ve made. But we can give someone else a small glimpse. Today, consider reaching out to a teacher, a friend, or a church member whose care has stayed with you. Tell them what it meant.
And as you continue your own work, remember: we plant, we water, and we trust God with the growth.
Rev. Ryan Young
