Are you a gardener?

"I planted the seed"

1 Corinthians 3:6

I love baseball.  And I love the Bible.  (Not necessarily in that order).  So naturally I love a story that brings them together.  Here's a great story for you.

In May of last year, the Washington Nationals and Houston Astros were tied 10-10, going into the 11th inning.  The pitcher for Washington was a man named Joel Hanrahan.  He pitched the top half of the 11th inning, and then the game was suspended because of rain.  It was not finished until July 9th, which was the next time those two teams met.

On that day, since the Nationals had been in the field when they stopped the game, they now got their turn at bat, and they won the game in that half inning.  That's all it took was one half inning, and now that game could go in the books.   And even though Joel Hanrahan hadn't even stepped on the mound that night, he was credited with the win, because he was the pitcher of record for Washington, having pitched the first half of the inning in which they won.

But here's the thing:  Between May 5, and July 9, Joel Hanrahan had been traded.  He was no longer even with the team, when he "won" the game.  As a matter of fact, he was taking a nap when he "won" the game!

But it gets better.  Because the man who scored the winning run, Nyjer Morgan, had not even been on the Washington Nationals in May.  On May 5th, he was a Pittsburgh Pirate.  But on June 30th, he had been traded to the Washington Nationals.

He was traded for Joel Hanrahan.

I think this is an amazing example of how God uses us for His purposes.  Hanrahan and Morgan worked together to win a game, without ever even meeting each other.

The role we play in drawing others to the kingdom is sometimes impossible for us to see.  And sometimes it may even seem we've accomplished nothing at all, when in reality, someone comes along and tends a seed we planted, and all along, the Holy Spirit is working in them.

Isaiah 55:10-11 says "As the rain and the snow come down from heaven, and do not return to it without watering the earth and making it bud and flourish, so that it yields seed for the sower and bread for the eater... So is My word that goes out from My mouth:  it will not return to Me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it."

Our sharing the gospel with someone cannot accomplish nothing.  Someone once told me it takes 40 people to bring someone to Christ.  You may be #1, you may be #39, but you are part of the process.  And whether you know it or not, He'll give you credit for the "win"!

~ "I planted the seed, Apollos watered it, 

but God has been making it grow." ~

1 Corinthians 3:6