It’s that time of year when I plant multitudes of flowers. I love working in the yard and seeing the results of watering and fertilizing plants. The colors seem to add so much beauty to the yard and enjoyment to me as I take care of them. As the summer approaches, they will need to be watered every day. Missing a day may not kill them, but it will certainly slow down their growth. I don’t remember many days that I don’t see a new weed that has popped its head through the soil. I quickly pull it up trying to make sure the roots are coming up with the plant. To my amazement, I usually find that same weed time and time again. Sometimes it’s because the root was not destroyed, and other times it is because the weed had stayed long enough to drop a seed. Sometimes many seeds! It is a constant process of watering, fertilizing, and plucking the weeds, to keep a garden looking good.
This garden reminds me of our spiritual lives. We get up every day ready to water and fertilize our lives with God’s word. We sit and read. Studying to find a little fertilizer and water to help us grow in areas of weakness in our lives. Sometimes we find very good fertilizer, such as a verse that speaks directly to our situation. For instance, presently in my life, I am trying to be healthier and lose weight. I read the verses such as I Corinthians 6:19-20, that admonish me to take care of my body because it is the temple where the Holy Spirit dwells within me. It teaches me that I am not my own, but I have been bought with a price. If I will heed these verses it will help me to be healthier. It is good fertilizer, but just like the fertilizer I buy for my flowers if I don’t apply it, it will do me no good.
I Corinthians 6:19-20 “What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own? For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God’s.”
When we don’t make the application of God’s word to our daily lives, we will eventually become anemic and spiritually sick. We may survive, but we will not produce a flower or fruit for the kingdom. We may become like the seed in Luke 8:6, it withered away.
Luke 8:6 “And some fell upon a rock; and as soon as it was sprung up, it withered away, because it lacked moisture.”
We may also have an unproductive garden because of weeds. Weeds left to themselves will take over and choke out the flowers. Sin that is ignored, or not completely eradicated from our lives, will eventually affect every area of our spiritual walk. We are never to allow Satan to have a foothold in any area of our lives. Ephesians 4:22-32 gives us a list of areas that we need to take care of, and right in the middle of those verses, Paul reminds us to not give the devil a place! Weeds are best controlled as tiny sprouts. We need to pull them before they spread and do more damage to the garden.
Ephesians 4:27 “Neither give place to the devil.”
We have talked about the preventative means of having a beautiful garden, now let us turn the corner and look at what needs to go in that garden.
I think seeds of kindness go a long way in keeping our garden in check.
Ephesians 4:32 “And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ’s sake hath forgiven you.”
In my garden, there must be sprouts of joy. This is a must for any Christian garden. Jesus spoke these words to those who were following Him. He wanted them to know their obedience was a joy to him and that he would send the Holy Spirit and His joy would be in them. They would be comforted after he ascended back to Heaven by the Holy Spirit.
John 15:11 “These things have I spoken unto you, that my joy might remain in you, and that your joy might be full.”
We need seeds of love. The greatest commandment is to love God with everything about you, and your neighbor as yourself. There should be a great variety of healthy growing plants and each one should be watered, fertilized, and cultivated, to full maturity.
It is the time of year for all living things to put on new growth and get ready for the challenge ahead. Do not wait until the weeds are about ready to overtake your garden. Get serious now!
