“I planted the seed, Apollos watered the plants, but God made you grow.” (1 Corinthians 3:6, MSG)
I once worked as a chemical dependency counselor for a private counseling agency. Warren (not his real name) was the first client with whom I worked. Warren was fifty years old and had been drinking since the age of twelve.
During my first interview with Warren, he sat and folded his arms as though to say, “What can you possibly say that would make a difference in my life?” The truth is I couldn’t say much of anything that Warren hadn’t heard before. He had completed no fewer than twenty-five treatment programs across the years, but nothing seemed to work.
Warren, however, was intrigued by the fact that I was a pastor. So, very humbly he asked, “Do you think God has given up on me?” I responded, “No, in fact I believe that even now God is chipping away at the stone around your heart in an attempt to reach the center.”
The following week Warren came in and proudly announced that he hadn’t touched a drop of alcohol all week. It was his longest period of sobriety in over four decades. When I asked him why the sudden change, Warren replied, “Well, after I listened to what you said last week, I realized that God has been at work in my life for a long time.”
Warren was right. God had been chipping away at Warren’s hardened heart through the counselors who had treated him, the pastors who preached to him, the family members who prayed for him. It was truly a team effort. I was only one in a lengthy chain of people who had witnessed to Warren. In this instance, I just happened to be the last one around when God’s Spirit closed the deal.
Warren’s journey of faith is an example of what is called The Law of the Second Witness. Paul’s words in the passage above are a description of how the law works. Paul claimed that he planted the seed. Apollo watered the plants. But ultimately, it was God’s spirit that provides the growth.
At the risk of mixing metaphors, the Law of the Second Witness stipulates that when it comes to finally bringing a family member or friend to faith in Christ, you may not be the closer. In baseball terms, you may be the starting pitcher or the middle reliever. You may be the forty-third of 143 other Christian friends who will communicate the message of Christ to a non-believer.
Frankly, all of us are secondary witnesses. God’s Holy Spirit is the primary witness when it comes to ultimately reaching a non-believer. We may be the conduits, but only the Spirit can provide the power needed to change the human heart. John 6:63 states that “What gives life is God’s Spirit…” (NIV).
Perhaps there’s a Warren in your home or your office or your neighborhood or your school. A person whose vision has become so clouded that they can’t see their way to change. Yet the glow of Christ in your life may be just enough to illumine their path.
I once worked as a chemical dependency counselor for a private counseling agency. Warren (not his real name) was the first client with whom I worked. Warren was fifty years old and had been drinking since the age of twelve.
During my first interview with Warren, he sat and folded his arms as though to say, “What can you possibly say that would make a difference in my life?” The truth is I couldn’t say much of anything that Warren hadn’t heard before. He had completed no fewer than twenty-five treatment programs across the years, but nothing seemed to work.
Warren, however, was intrigued by the fact that I was a pastor. So, very humbly he asked, “Do you think God has given up on me?” I responded, “No, in fact I believe that even now God is chipping away at the stone around your heart in an attempt to reach the center.”
The following week Warren came in and proudly announced that he hadn’t touched a drop of alcohol all week. It was his longest period of sobriety in over four decades. When I asked him why the sudden change, Warren replied, “Well, after I listened to what you said last week, I realized that God has been at work in my life for a long time.”
Warren was right. God had been chipping away at Warren’s hardened heart through the counselors who had treated him, the pastors who preached to him, the family members who prayed for him. It was truly a team effort. I was only one in a lengthy chain of people who had witnessed to Warren. In this instance, I just happened to be the last one around when God’s Spirit closed the deal.
Warren’s journey of faith is an example of what is called The Law of the Second Witness. Paul’s words in the passage above are a description of how the law works. Paul claimed that he planted the seed. Apollo watered the plants. But ultimately, it was God’s spirit that provides the growth.
At the risk of mixing metaphors, the Law of the Second Witness stipulates that when it comes to finally bringing a family member or friend to faith in Christ, you may not be the closer. In baseball terms, you may be the starting pitcher or the middle reliever. You may be the forty-third of 143 other Christian friends who will communicate the message of Christ to a non-believer.
Frankly, all of us are secondary witnesses. God’s Holy Spirit is the primary witness when it comes to ultimately reaching a non-believer. We may be the conduits, but only the Spirit can provide the power needed to change the human heart. John 6:63 states that “What gives life is God’s Spirit…” (NIV).
Perhaps there’s a Warren in your home or your office or your neighborhood or your school. A person whose vision has become so clouded that they can’t see their way to change. Yet the glow of Christ in your life may be just enough to illumine their path.