Of Watermelons and Evangelism

Watermelons

For those who don't know, Watermelon is my favorite fruit, so I tried planting several seeds at the start of the year, hoping to harvest even at least a single fruit after three months or so.

I bought a pack of seeds of the "Gold Baby" variety at the nearby Robinson's Supermarket. After researching on the feasibility of growing Watermelons on pots, I decided to give the project a go using makeshift plastic pots from old water containers.

I actually tried growing melons last year, but they all died because I didn't have the time to transplant them. My enthusiasm also faded after losing patience with the entire planting and growing process. This time, however, I placed my heart into the  project. I am now actually more than halfway through and my watermelons now have flowers and buds everywhere.

The photo above was taken after I transplanted the seedlings to a bigger plastic pot. There was actually just one at first, but another seed suddenly sprouted. Thus, the odd positioning of the two. You can just imagine my excitement when I succeeded in transferring my young watermelons, something I failed to do with my melons in the past.

Fast forward to one and a half months after and my watermelons have grown a lot! (Refer to the photo below.) My housemate, Dado, gave me the two plastic pots as birthday gifts on February. I separated the two seedlings, one on each pot, for maximum nutrient absorption.

By the way, I placed my plants on our roof. I'm dreaming of having my own green roof someday! Somewhat similar to the Plants vs Zombies stage where potted plants lined the rooftop.

And if you're wondering, how watermelon flowers look like, refer to the photo below. That's the first ever flower that bloomed from my plant. Watermelons have male and female flowers. The male delivers the pollen while the female, when fertilized, turns into the fruit. You can easily distinguish the "gender" of the flower by looking at its stem. If it looks like an ordinary stem, it's a male flower. But if it has a bulge the shape of a vase, that's a female flower.

No female flower has bloomed to date, but I'm expecting two anytime this week. I'm praying that their blooming will coincide with a male flower so that I can fertilize them and finally have a watermelon fruit!

Evangelism

Up until this point, I had been talking about my watermelon plants. Through this simple experience, however, God made me understand the principle behind 1 Corinthians 3:5-9 more clearly.

Here we read:

5 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. 6 I planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but God has been making it grow. 7 So neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but only God, who makes things grow. 8 The one who plants and the one who waters have one purpose, and they will each be rewarded according to their own labor. 9 For we are co-workers in God’s service; you are God’s field, God’s building.

When I bought a pack of seeds, I planted five, hoping that even just one would grow. I was anxious the first three days because I did not see any of the seeds germinating. I was faithful in watering them and I made sure that they were planted on good soil. However, whether the seeds would live or not was totally out of my hands.

Similarly in evangelism, as God's workers, we are called to be faithful in planting seeds of the Gospel and watering those earlier planted by other Christians. However, the blooming of the seeds or the coming to faith in Jesus of a person is out of our control.

Only the Holy Spirit can convict a person of sin and turn him or her to God (John 16:8). Regeneration or the giving of new life in Christ is wholly God's work. As evangelists, the heart of our duty is to faithfully and clearly proclaim Jesus as the only answer to sin and the only way to be reconciled back to God (John 3:16). We are also to urge people to believe this message and to repent from their sins that they may be saved or forgiven by God (Mark 1:15).

A person's response to this Gospel or Good News is entirely dependent on the grace or mercy of God. That is, apart from God's intervention, no single person can say "yes" to Jesus. The gravity of our depravity makes us unable to choose God on our own strength (Romans 3:10-12). The sinful nature makes us captive of the kingdom of darkness and blind to the truth about Jesus (Galatians 3:22; 2 Corinthians 4:4).

But praise God because the Holy Spirit works in the hearts of people. He enables men and women to respond to Jesus. As such, no evangelist can really claim glory for the salvation of people. Paul was right when he said that it was not him or Apollos who saved, but God alone.

This truth should also be an encouragement for us to never stop sharing the Gospel because God can use all our humble acts in drawing people to Himself (Galatians 6:9). Usually, ministers are discouraged because they do not see fruit in their work. However, if we realize that only God can produce fruit or salvation in a person, we should never use this as a measure for our success or failure.

Instead, we must seek God's strength that He may enable us to faithfully and clearly share the Gospel. Afterall, as Bill Bright of the Campus Crusade for Christ emphasized, (with some additions on my part) "Success in witnessing is simply taking the initiative to [faithfully and clearly] share Christ in the power of the Holy Spirit and leaving the results to God."

May this encourage us all to keep on sharing Jesus! God bless you all!