1 Corinthians 3:7

“So neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but only God, who makes things grow.” ~1 Corinthians 3:7 NIV

Have you ever been told that we are the only ones who can change ourselves? Maybe someone said that if you change your mindset, your character will begin to change and eventually, you’ll become a new person. Or, maybe you’ve heard the other phrase: “A zebra can’t change their stripes/a leopard can’t change its spots…” Change is a good thing, and it’s a needed thing, but we often forget that we can’t change ourselves and that we can’t possibly hope to change other people either. ONLY God can change a person because He sees what is on the inside, what’s lurking in our heart and in our mind. This verse is a PRIME example of why that is, and honestly this whole chapter in 1 Corinthians speaks on how we should be celebrating that we are God’s temple and that we GET to surrender control to God. This is actually something I rejoice in because I’m glad that I don’t have to figure it out on my own; He knows exactly what I need and when I need it. It’s refreshing to me that I don’t have to worry about my future because He knows exactly what I’ll end up doing, what my purpose is in how I can fulfill my part in building His Kingdom.

Above: My new tattoo; it represents growth.

Tattoo #5 is also from our time in Ukraine, given to me by God through a fun team time question: what is your favorite tree? When I answered, I said it was the weeping cherry tree (Sakura tree) because it represents joy and sadness, about how they come together in a beautiful harmony to represent new beginnings. The pink color is also a symbol of feminity and love because pink is a tender color in itself. As I looked up the meaning of a Sakura tree, I felt God telling me that is who I am to Him: a beautiful mix of joy and sadness, filled with love and renewed feminine strength as I went through this season in Ukraine. It reminded me that even when the trials I face are intimidating, I can STILL find the joy in the midst of them because I know that God has a plan even if I don’t have one. I can only find true joy, growth and freedom in Jesus, in my Savior because ONLY He can grow me into the woman he designed me to be; no one is able to guide me in the same way as Him, with unfiltered, steadfast love and peace that He himself can/will sustain in me as a dwell in him. So, that being said, this tattoo is a picture of a baby weeping cherry tree; it is also my first colored tattoo as well because I needed the pink to be on display too so that I can easily explain that it represents my growth in love as well.

In order to truly understand, I would go back and read the blogs that came from Ukraine specifically, but to summarize, Ukraine was a very good month, BUT it was filled with difficulties (God did redeem them, and will redeem the rest) as well as answered prayers of how to view God as my heavenly Father, not my earthly father. I was still learning on how to best pour love into other people, but also, to let them pour love into me in return so that I could feel seen by them in the ways I needed to be seen. It also proved to break my heart even more than before for all those lost people who have no idea who God is, or that their small idea of who he is is corrupted by other religions and/or other people who have diluted what it means to BE a follower of Christ (which is truly unfortunate if you think about it). It represents a refreshed revelation that only God can grow us, but we are still meant to pour into one another, to pour water onto one another and at the same time, we are meant to plant seeds in order to allow growth to take place/enter in other people. After all, they can’t invite God in to grow them if there’s no seed of knowledge planted by one of His followers, of awareness, to begin with.

“The one who plants and the one who waters have one purpose, and they will each be rewarded according to their own labor. For we are co-workers in God’s service; you are God’s field, God’s building. By the grace God has given me, I laid a foundation as a wise builder, and someone else is building on it. But each one should build with care. For no one can lay any foundation other than the one already laid, which is Jesus Christ.” ~1 Corinthians 3:8-11

Above: A rock tower I built near the Black Sea in Batumi; we did a squad scavenger hunt to bond with our new teams. There will be a new team picture coming in this post (on Instagram and Facebook).

To go into more detail, the rest of 1 Corinthians chapter 3 talks about not only growth, but it also talks about freedom, intimacy, promise, inheritance, peace, healing, refreshment, restoration, persistence, to be on fire, and to be alive for Christ. Once we have received (and even beforehand; more as a promise to Jesus made by God, but it’s still our choice which is actually pretty incredible) that seed of faith, accepting to follow in it, we become co-heirs with Christ because we allowed that faith to take root in our heart. If we have chosen to keep building on His firm foundation, we will be rewarded generously by our heavenly Father; He will give us these things to use to build His Kingdom and to allow him to speak through us, through our vessel, in order to plant more seeds. The closer we abide in Him, the more we choose to trust His Way and Truth, to lean on Him, the more we will receive from Him to grow closer to Him and to fulfill the great commission He has given to all of us: going out into the nations and sharing His good news!

“If anyone builds on this foundation and uses gold, silver, costly stones, wood, hay or straw, their work will be shown for what it is, because the Day will bring it to light. It will be revealed with fire, and the fire will test the quality of each person’s work. If what has been built survives, the builder will receive a reward. If it is burned up, the builder will suffer loss but yet will be saved – even though only as one escaping through the flames. Don’t you know that you yourselves are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in your midst?” ~1 Corinthians 3:12-16

And, while we are going through different seasons as we pursue what it means to follow Him, we will be refined by Him by choosing to fully live for Him, to fully be ALIVE in Him and that is how we will begin to see the fruit of our labor. It’s a way for him to test us, to see what still needs to be strengthened by Him or if there’s anything that needs to be removed that could be serving as more of a hindrance rather than being helpful. It gives us a wake-up call, letting us realize that we are NOT our own; we are God’s temple and therefore, we are rightfully HIS to use even though He gives us the ability to choose whether or not He gets to use us, which is absolutely wild to me. AND, this is a way for other people (specifically those who don’t know Him yet) to see the unexplainable radiance of God’s love and joy through us as we endure trials with open hands, fully surrendered to whatever God wants to do in us. That’s a beautiful thing to me, and that’s what He was really teaching me during our time in Ukraine.

The placement took me a while to receive an answer for, so I was going to put it on my arm… at least until God chimed back in and said “No. Put it on your side, specifically on your ribs.” (right in the center of them on my side, aka one of the most tender places to get a tattoo) He wanted me to put the pink in it so that it also served to remind me that even though growth is painful, it is STILL loving. God still loves us and because he loves us, we get to endure through suffering in order to better grasp the weight of His love for us, as well as the true weight of accepting He is the only one who can grow us, that surrendering control is also a hard habit to create/fall into. Also, this tattoo is not on full display and while I didn’t think there was a specific meaning to it, He said that it serves as a reminder that growth isn’t always viewable; sometimes, growth is only viewed in specific seasons or after the fact of trial/tribulation you had gone through. That’s a beautiful treasure to know that God values intimacy to even the smallest things, that He can see the growth at all times, but it only becomes viewable to others when He deems it to be the right season to share, the right time to share.

A question to ponder: Are you living fully surrendered to God? Or are you giving in to fleshly desires, making up excuses to keep living that way instead of living solely to honor God and what HE desires for you? Hard questions are good questions.