Here is a piece I wrote for our July Newsletter. I thought it would be good to share via the blog.
I really enjoy my garden. I don’t know how good of a gardener I am, but I’m good enough to have tomatoes, peppers, and other veggies to eat at the end of the summer. There is nothing like vine ripened tomatoes, bell peppers, and cucumbers from your own garden. We celebrate the harvest with BLT’s, stuffed peppers, homemade coleslaw, and fresh broccoli. This year I’ve tried growing lettuce for the first time, and already it has been fun to step out the back door and grab some fresh lettuce to top our grilled burgers.
As much as I enjoy eating the produce from our garden, it is not the main reason I love gardening. There is something miraculous about the way the tomato plants produce fruit. Have you ever really looked at a tomato seed? They are tiny. How does a plant grow from that? Seed, soil, water, sunlight – these are the things required for the growth of a plant, but how does it happen? Yet somehow, at the end of the season, I’ve harvested several tomatoes from a plant grown from one seed. There is work involved in gardening. I could do more, but for me it mostly involves making sure the plants are spaced out evenly, watered regularly, and the ground is reasonably clear of weeds. Most of the work, however, occurs almost magically as vines lengthen, leaves expand, flowers bloom, and I take it all in. I love it. Anne, Elijah, Alexandra and I regularly check the garden and go over the names of the plants. And we watch God’s good creation grow as God designed it to do.
Jesus often taught using parables that involved agriculture. I have heard that Jesus did this because his audience was from small, rural communities. That may be the case, but I suspect there is more. I think we can observe the handiwork of God in a special way in the tiny miracles of nature, and in doing so we can find clues as to God’s purpose and design for us. The apostle Paul wrote that the fruits of the Spirit are love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. Jesus told a parable about a mustard seed, a tiny seed that grows into a large plant. Perhaps the garden can give us a glimpse of what ought to be occurring inside of each of us. If you have the faith even the size of a tiny mustard seed (or tomato seed I would add), then amazing things can happen. The Holy Spirit can grow something within you that is nothing short of a miracle. As you grow and change there is work you ought to do in order to help the process. Make sure you are providing nutrients through Bible study and small groups, get sunlight through worship, weed out the things that choke off life from your spirit. The main work though is done almost magically as God grows something new inside of you. Then, just like our garden plants, we should expect some sort of harvest. It may be small at first; a little more patience here, or some more generosity over there. Eventually, by the grace of God, we can find that our harvest has increased, the fruit of the spirit is so abundant, we have to ask, “How did all of this come from a tiny seed?” The answer, of course, is by the hand of God.
May this season be one of growth and transformation for you by the power of God through the Holy Spirit. Amen.
“By contrast, the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against such things. And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. If we live by the Spirit, let us also be guided by the Spirit.” Galatians 5:22-25