So Who’s Doing the Work?

The Wise Master Builder (Part 12)

I planted, Apollos watered, but God was causing the growth. (1 Corinthians 3:6)
Is it God or me doing the work to develop a man spiritually? Yes! Well how much does He do and how much am I responsible for? All! We really don’t like these kind of answers because they are vague and ambiguous. But the truth of the matter is, we can’t answer these sovereignty/freewill questions. My friend Rusty Bean says, “It’s like a grilled cheese sandwich. Once you grill it, there’s no pulling it apart.” As much as we would like to separate God’s responsibility and ours, we must live in the tension of knowing God’s will is being accomplished and we freely participate in that will.

So, when it comes to helping others follow Jesus and grow in their faith, I take a very simple approach. I work hard to do everything I can within the limits of my gifts, talents, and resources (Phil 2.12) and then pray and praise God that ultimately His will is being accomplished in their lives (Phil 2.13). I guess that makes me a Calmenian (1/2 Calvinist, 1/2 Armenian).

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