‘God Makes It Grow’

A farmer may plant a seed, water and cultivate it, but he must patiently wait for God to make it grow to maturity. It is likewise with Christian ministers. As the apostle Paul said: “I planted, Apollos watered, but God kept making it grow.” (1 Corinthians 3:6) Although we may proclaim the “good news” and teach God’s Word to interested people, it is God who makes the “seed,” or implanted word, come to full Christian growth, even as the following experience illustrates.​—Matthew 24:14; Luke 8:11-15.

“In 1953 I started a Bible study with Mable and her mother. We had three studies. But Mable’s husband was so opposed that he sold the house and moved the family. She had such a love for the Bible that I often wondered what happened to her.

“Last month I received this letter, which helped me to appreciate that it is Jehovah who makes the ‘seed’ grow.

‘Dear Virginia,

‘We are finally sisters after all these years. I hope you didn’t think I had given up the truth for good. It just took all those years and finally Jehovah’s spirit to make me strong enough to take my stand.

‘I have often thought of the “seeds” you planted so many years ago, and I just wanted you to know that I finally made it.’”