All these people were still living by faith when they died. They did not receive the things promised; they only saw them and welcomed them from a distance. (Heb. 11:13)
Expanded Passage: Hebrews 11:13-16
College Wesleyan Church (CWC) participates in a program called Kids Hope. Through this program, CWC partners with Francis Slocum Elementary School. Last year, over eighty adults from CWC volunteered to be mentors for Francis Slocum students. Each week, these mentors spent one hour with their mentee, helping with schoolwork, playing games, and generally making sure that the child knew someone loved them and believed in them. Long after these year-long relationships are over, the mentees continue to benefit in ways that the mentor will never know.
We do not often get to see the fruits of our labor in the spiritual realm. Many times, we simply plant seeds that someone else will water. Other times we are watering seeds that others planted and still others will harvest. Missionaries in countries hostile to Christianity often spend their entire lives just softening the soil. It may take generations of missionaries for breakthrough to occur. And yet, through their faithfulness, what they saw from a distance eventually comes true—new disciples begin making disciples, churches are founded, and the former mission field begins sending out missionaries of its own.
Perhaps you have been praying for a friend or loved one without seeing progress. Perhaps you have been serving in an area and have yet to see real change. Don’t stop. Even if you don’t witness it, the harvest is coming.
Plant and water seeds, even if you won’t be there to harvest.
Aaron Wilkinson is an ordained minister in The Wesleyan Church and Chair of the Department of Business and Economics at Huntington University.
© 2026 Wesleyan Publishing House. Reprinted from Light from the Word. Used by permission. Scriptures taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®.
