Monday, March 23, 2015

Spiritual Gardening

“For when one says, ‘I follow Paul,’ and another, ‘I follow Apollos,’ are you not mere human beings? 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.  I planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but God has been making it grow.  So neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but only God, who makes things grow.  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.” (I Corinthians 3:4-9 NIV)

My wife is getting excited because Spring is about to arrive here in the mountains.  That means cultivating the soil, planting seeds, watering, and, the most important and thrilling part, watching the plants grow and bear fruit.  She loves every aspect of growing things.  

Growth does tend to bring joy.  Parents love to see their children grow from babies to children, from children to teenagers, and then into adults. Entrepreneurs love taking an idea and growing it into a thriving business.  And gardeners, like my wife, love growing flowering plants and vegetables.  The joy of growing things seems to be a part of our DNA.  

The Scriptures often use agrarian metaphors to describe spiritual realities and Paul does that here in this passage.  He talks of seed-planting, watering, and growth.  Combatting the human tendency to glorify others, or ourselves Paul makes clear our role in the spiritual harvest is minor compared with the Lord.  Yes, we are the planters of seeds and the ones who water the fledgling plants, but God is the One behind their growth.  We may be proud of what our hands have accomplished, but we cannot take credit for the results.  

However, there is something lying deeper within this passage, akin to what my wife and others feel this time of year—an excitement and joy in the act of spiritual gardening.  In order to plant seeds, the soil, hardened by winter’s grip, must be loosened.  Have you ever felt the excitement of taking the hoe of grace or the spade of joy to loosen the soil of a hardened heart?  Of showing someone who has become embittered by life the simple kindnesses of listening and caring?  Or showing love to one who has grown up repeatedly rejected and abused?  Have you experienced the joy of pouring love into someone, who having first experienced it, is thirsty for more?  Have you experienced the thrill of doing these things and watching people grow and blossom before your eyes?

I have countless times and that is why I am an avid spiritual gardener.  I just love the joy of being a worker in God’s garden—cultivating, planting, watering, and watching people grow!  There is nothing more satisfying, and like any enthusiast, I highly recommend you try it.  As the Lord has said, “The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field.” (Matthew 9:37-38 NIV)  

The reality is too few in the Church get excited or are willing to put in the time in God’s garden.  We are too busy with our own work and interests.  We often are great cheerleaders for the gardeners, but do not see their work as something we could or would want to do.  But, like a lot of things, we will never know until we try.

Today, know that you are in the midst of a garden with a mixture of hardened soil, buried seed, and fledgling plants who need nurturing if they are to survive and thrive.  What an opportunity you have!  Don’t shrink back!  Pick up that hoe of grace, that spade of joy, that watering can of life and get to work.  I think you will be amazed at the excitement there is in being at work in the Lord’s garden and the joy of experiencing the harvest!

© Jim Musser 2015

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