My garden right now is a wreck! I have not tilled it, prepared it, or even planted it for this season. It is filled with a grand assortment of weeds and mostly overtaken by dandelions. In order for me to have any hopes of fresh fruits and vegetables in my garden this year, I am going to have to put in a large amount of hard work to get it back into the shape it needs to be in for planting. I have quite a job ahead of me and I have been avoiding it for the last couple weeks because I know I am going to be exhausted, aching, and dirty once I am done.
My garden was not always this way. For the past few years I have done a good job of preparing it for planting and successfully gathering quite a bounty. I know what my garden is capable of producing and I can instantly remember all the wonderful sights, tastes, and smells from my gardens of years past. I long for my garden to be like the years before but know that accomplishing this task will be both challenging and worth while.
Sometimes our own lives are like my garden. We have great times of fruitfulness and bounty and then other times where we let ourselves go. There have been many times that the garden of my heart has been desolate and filled with the weeds of sin and the world. Sure, I still had a fruit or vegetable plant here or there but none of them produced what they were capable of and some even where snuffed out by the weeds surrounding them.
Each day is an opportunity to prepare, care for, and cultivate our soul. We are given the choice to plant the seeds of wisdom from the Bible in our hearts or the seed of sin. We can choose to shine the light of the Holy Spirit on our heart, which will bring growth and nourishment, or we can cloud our hearts with things that don't matter and have no eternal value. We can water our hearts with Jesus' living water or starve our hearts by filling it with the tainted waters of the devil, which may appear clear and pure and yet will always leave you wanting and leave you needing more than when you started.
Are you on a path that will produce the fruits of the Spirit in your heart or is your heart being strangled and tangled in an abundance of weeds? Jesus spoke of the parable of the sower in Matthew 13:1-23. In this parable He talked about some seed falling on the path and being scavenged by birds, some falling on hard ground and being scorched by the sun because they had shallow roots, some falling amongst the thorns and weeds and being choked out, and those that fall on fertile ground. Of the seeds that fall on fertile ground Jesus said that some seeds would produce thirty, some sixty, and some even a hundred times what was planted.
As I consider my own garden, I have learned that how I take care of it determines the harvest I have. I have to provide good soil, proper water, a proper amount of sun, and even make sure that the plants don't get over crowded by weeds and similar plants. There is so much more that also contributes to the bounty of my garden and much of it depends on my input into it.
In my blog last night i spoke about Faith or Works, in this parable Jesus shows how they go together. The seed that falls on fertile soil is given life and you will notice that Jesus did not talk about the seed produce nothing. The life is faith and is what you are saved by but the produce is the works that are created through your life and faith. I hope you will allow the Lord to prepare your heart today. There is so much blessing in the fruits He will create in your life. Paul speaks of the fruits of the spirit in Galatians 5:22-23 saying, "The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self control." May you see these wonderful fruits in the garden of your heart and in the example of your life this year.
Blessings
Greg
My wife and I feel an intense calling on our lives for missions and full-time ministry. We have created a fundraiser to help us overcome one hurtle to us being able to go to the mission field. I pray that you will take a moment and check out this link. I thank you for your consideration and ask that you seek the Lord's guidance in considering contributing to this fundraiser. Thank you.
http://www.youcaring.com/fundraiser_details?fundraiser_id=3437&url=roadtofreedomforproclaimingchrist
1 comment:
Thank you for this post.
Post a Comment