Do the Work

There are a lot of roles in this world that require us to coexist with others toward some effort.  On teams, we might have co-captains.  At work, we might have co-leads. In some family situations, we might have co-parenting responsibilities.  If you’ve ever been in any of these roles, you might admit that it takes a lot of effort to “co” anything.  I mean you have to consider alternative perspectives.  You must be cognizant of tone.  You must consider communication styles.  You must consider all sorts of things.  And all the while, you’re still expected to get stuff done with basically two heads leading the effort.  It can be challenging to say the least.

But we know one thing for sure…God did not call us to co-God!  He is sovereign and does not need us in the way.  He really does have this, and we need to “have several seats” and let Him do what He does best.  This week in my Bible Study Fellowship group we studied the Parable of the Soils and the Parable of the Weeds in the book of Matthew.  One of the questions was “why is distinguishing between believers and unbelievers difficult for us?”  I’ll be transparent.  When I initially answered the question, I thought “who said it was difficult?”  I mean don’t you just look at the evidence that you see and that tells you everything you need to know?  The more I pondered the question, God convicted me that maybe that was part of the problem right there.  Making judgments about what I see is so not of God.  Furthermore, I’m all out of my lane when I do that.  Heck, if I’m honest, my evidence or my walk can be questionable some days.

Clearly, the answer to the question is that it is difficult because only God knows the heart.  Therefore, He doesn’t need a “co-anything”.  We have a lane to stay in and a role to play.  We need to focus on sowing the seed of the Gospel and nurturing our soil so that our fruit will be pleasing to Him and be an example to others.  According to Matthew 13:23, we have the opportunity to produce a harvest of thirty, sixty, or even a hundred times as much as was planted.  God determines the yield, and all yield is good to Him.  Colossians 3:10 states, “Now you are wearing a new life, a life that is new every day. You are growing in your understanding of the one who made you. You are becoming more and more like him.” We need to do the work on us to fulfill His design and purpose for us.  That’s our assignment.  He’ll take care of everything else.