We are all longing for purpose, significance, and meaning. We want to be involved in something bigger than ourselves, and we hope to make a difference in this world.
But, living a life like this can be challenging, because so often the impact that we are hoping to make is not immediately visible. So often, we toil and we pour ourselves into the people in our lives with very few tangible or immediate results. So often, we aren’t able to see the fruits of our labor in this life. And, so often, this can lead to discouragement.
I think of missionaries like William Carey who faithfully toiled for years in India before he saw a single convert. I think of starving artists such as Vincent Van Gogh who produced more than 2,000 works of art, but sold only two during his lifetime! I think of musicians such as Johann Sebastian Bach who was a brilliant composer, but who did not become popular until after his death. These men did not know the impact that they were making, and there are so many more from our history books who we could add to this list.
Here is the question for us today: What if your name found itself on this list? Although you may never be a world renown artist or musician, what if, like Van Gogh or Bach, you never fully know the impact that you are making on the people in your life?
As a follower of Jesus, the reality is that we may never fully know the extent of the ways that the Lord may be using us to impact others in our lives. We work, we marry, we go to school, we parent, we make friends, we disciple people in the faith, and we share our faith with people, and in so many cases, the impact that we are making on others in our lives takes years to be seen. It take years to be realized, and often, by the time that it is realized, we aren’t even around to see it.
As we consider this, we need to know three important truths…
One, God sees it.
Although you may not see the results, although you may never see the results… Take heart that our God sees! This should bring us so much hope and confidence as we serve the Lord. Jeremiah says,
“I the Lord search the heart and test the mind, to give every man according to his ways, according to the fruit of his deeds.” – Jeremiah 17:10 (ESV)
God sees the invisible, God knows what is not yet realized, and because our God sees our heart, He will give every man according to what he has done. Meaning, the success of our lives does not rest upon the results that we can see today, because our God sees!
Two, God uses it.
There are countless stories of men and women who have been impacted by someone in their life who have made a profound gospel impact on them, and yet they have not been able to tell them, that have not been able to show them how they have been impacted, and they have not even been able to say “thank you.”
Paul says in 1 Corinthians,
I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the growth. So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God who gives the growth. – 1 Corinthians 3:6-7 (ESV)
The truth is that we often do not realize what part we play in the lives of those around us. At times we plant and at times we water, but God is the one who gives the growth. In other words, no matter what our role may be, God uses the obedience of his workers… whether we see it or not. God uses it!
Three, God rewards it.
Paul then says,
He who plants and he who waters are one, and each will receive his wages according to his labor. – 1 Corinthians 3:8 (ESV)
It does not matter our role, and it does not matter if we see the fruit of our labor here on this earth, our God sees and our God rewards the obedience of his children. Meaning, our true reward is later. Our true reward is in Christ. Our true reward is reserved for us in heaven. Regardless of the fruit that we see today, our God rewards!
Although we may never see all of the ways that God is using our lives to impact others, we know that our God sees, our God uses us in his grand mission, and our God rewards the obedience of his children. So, we continue to give of ourselves, we continue to serve, we continue to pour ourselves out for others, and we continue to live for a legacy that we may never see in this life.