Message summary: We are all only servants, through whom others come to believe—as the Lord has assigned to each his task.

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"What, after all, is Apollos? And what is Paul? Only servants, through whom you came to believe—as the Lord has assigned to each His task. I planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but God made it grow. So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God, who makes things grow. The man who plants and the man who waters have one purpose, and each will be rewarded according to his own labor. For we are God's fellow workers; you are God's field, God's building" (1 Corinthians 3:5-9). "Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain" (1 Corinthians 15:58).

Shortly after we got married in 1976 I (Stephen) was the recreational director and lifeguard at a 2 week school for missionary children in Springfield, Missouri. As best I recall my duties included planning and overseeing organized games and being the lifeguard at pool time. In retrospect you might say I was hired to multitask!

Thirty years later in 2006 we attended a mission service to hear Huldah Buntain, a missionary to India. Maureen, a young lady whom Huldah and her husband Mark adopted as a child, also attended the service. She was married with a family and most importantly living for Christ. Maureen also attended the mission school where I was a lifeguard in 1976 but didn't remember me. Nor do I suppose any of the other missionary children remembered me, since we had a very short time together and of course they were young.(who would now be in their 50's and early 60's) Hopefully the one child I "saved" using my Red Cross lifesaving training does remember the lifeguard who saved her from drowning!

That's the way it is with a lot of our service for the Lord. There are many people we've impacted but they don't recall the specifics, yet that doesn't negate our labor, which the Bible clearly teaches is "not in vain" (see 1 Corinthians 15:58). Likewise, there are many people who've impacted our lives that we don't recall, but that doesn't negate their labor. We are a composite of many influences some being memorable but most others are not.

Our word of encouragement today is for all involved in any form of ministry. (That should be all of you who claim Christ as your Lord.) Christian ministry is the effort to impact our God-ordained sphere of influence for Christ and eternity for whatever time period God appoints, whether brief or long.

Paul wrote our daily text, a portion of his letter to the Corinthians. He is the most prominent apostle in the early church and wrote a significant portion of the New Testament. Apollos had a lesser role and we have no Biblical writings attributed to him. Yet Paul writes, "What, after all, is Apollos? And what is Paul? Only servants, through whom you came to believe—as the Lord has assigned to each his task".

"The Lord has assigned to each His task". The Lord has assigned to each of us a task with one purpose. We are all only servants, through whom others come to believe—as the Lord has assigned to each his task. Some of us plant, some of us water. But we can all be assured that our labor is not in vain as we remain faithful!

Be encouraged today, Hebrews 3:13.

Stephen & Brooksyne Weber