Most understand teamwork will enhance the success of any organization. When everyone is pulling in the same direction, much success is forthcoming. We see the evidence of this truth born out in successful businesses, championship sports teams, and even the Lord’s church. Without teamwork any organization, including the church, suffers.
Working together for the cause of Christ is of paramount importance. When the entire congregation is pulling toward Heaven, great things happen. Jesus spoke a parable proclaiming that “…the kingdom of God is as if a man should scatter seed on the ground, and should sleep by night and rise by day, and the seed should sprout and grow, he himself does not know how. For the earth yields crops by itself: first the blade, then the head, after that the full grain in the head. But when the grain ripens, immediately he puts in the sickle, because the harvest has come” (Mark 4:26-29). The sower has very little to do with the growth of the seed in the ground. After He plants the seeds, they sprout and break through the soil. The farmer does not understand the entire process, however, He knows he must wait patiently for the harvest to come forth. It is the same way in the Kingdom of God. Paul, in writing his first letter to the congregation at Corinth, proclaimed, “I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the increase. So then neither he who plants is anything, nor he who waters, but God who gives the increase. Now, he who plants and he who waters are one, and each one will receive his own reward according to his own labor. For we are God’s fellow workers; you are God’s field, you are God’s building” (1 Corinthians 3:6-9). Even though God has placed the gospel in our hands, we must remember it is God who provides the increase through the power of His word. When the Word falls on willing, receptive hearts it grows to fruition. Hear Paul: “For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes, for the Jew first and also for the Greek” (Romans 1:16). As laborers together with God, we must realize our duty is to plant and water the Word so it can work in the hearts and minds of the lost. Lest we forget, this important work is enjoined upon every faithful Disciple of Christ. Hear Jesus: “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age. Amen” (Matthew 28:18-20).
By far, hearing and obeying the Word of God is the most important need of man today. Remember, God is “…not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance” (2 Peter 3:9).
Should this not be our attitude as well?