God's Plantings

"Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your toil is not in vain in the Lord" (1 Corinthians 15:58).

In 1627, Samuel Rutherford penned a letter to Marion M'Naught, wife of William Fullerton, minister of a small Presbyterian church in Kirkcudbright, Scotland. Apparently things were not going well for William, and he had few to "speak a good word" for him. He wanted God to "transplant" him to another place.

Rutherford wrote. "All God's plants, set by His own hand, thrive well. Ask of God a submissive heart. Continue for the love of the Prince of your salvation, who is standing at the end of your way, holding up in His hand the prize and the garland to the race-runners. Your reward shall be with the Lord, although the people be not gathered (as the prophet speaks); and suppose the work do not prosper...you shall not lose your reward.”

So you're not the best preacher in town, so people don't gather in large numbers to hear you speak and the work does not seem to be prospering. "Remain with God." (1 Corinthians 7:24). Pray, teach, listen, love, grow in grace and truth until God in His wisdom "extrudes you," to borrow Francis Schaeffer's colorful phrase.

Continue "for the love of the Prince of your salvation" (John 21:15-17). Never give up. "You shall not lose your reward."

David Roper

2.5.20