This year my family and I planted a garden. This is a first for us and we are excited to see how it all turns out. One reason that we planted a garden is we like vegetables — and what better than garden fresh vegetables! Another reason I think starting a garden would be beneficial for me is for the spiritual lessons that can be learned and illustrated with the process of gardening. Take a minute sometime and scan through your Bible from the Old Testament to the new and you will find many many illustrations and lessons that use the process of planting and growing and harvesting as a backdrop or illustration. Jesus used agricultural imagery frequently in his teachings and yes the concepts can be understood even if you have never put a seed in soil and watered it but how much more impactful it is if you know exactly – from experience- what Jesus is talking about. So I planted a garden.
I was poking around in my garden yesterday. Sometimes poking around in it for me simply means looking at it and being amazed at how fast everything seemed to pop up. looking at the bright green growing from the dirt with excitement and anticipation of what is to come. But yesterday I noticed some weeds growing in the garden very small ones almost unnoticeable. At first, I wasn’t even sure if they were weeds or something I had planted. However, after careful examination, I saw that these little green leaves that were popping up didn’t look anything like any of the other plants. Looking at them closer I saw that looked the same as the grass in my yard. In fact, if this little weed had been growing 10 feet away I would have called it grass rather than a weed, but it wasn’t growing 10 feet away it was in my garden and it had friends so they were weeds.
Isn’t it interesting that on one side of the 12′ tall cedar board that defines the perimeter of my garden the grass is natural, expected, understood, even perhaps desirable, but on the other side – on the inside- of the garden the weed is invasive, unnatural, not welcome, dangerous and needs to be removed.
That is a picture of what holiness is.
Holiness is a church word. We talk about it and we say we want it in our lives but what is it?
To be Holy means to be set apart — set apart for a particular purpose.
When it comes to my backyard that 4×8 space is set apart for a purpose. The purpose of producing vegetables anything within that space that works contrary to that purpose is unwanted. It is defiling. Even a blade of grass that grows anywhere else in the yeard would be normal — here in the garden, it is not normal.
God has made us (those who have put our faith and trust in Christ) Hol. He has set us apart for a particular purpose and that purpose is to Produce fruit that glorifies the father (John 15). All around us, there are things that society would call normal. Things that are expected. things that are desired. Things that it would be strange for someone to heat us calling a weed because to them it looks like grass.
However, if we bring those things into our lives- the garden God has planted- it would be detrimental to our purpose it would be defiling. When we discover these things they must be removed.
May God bless you this week. May you continually be made more and more into the image of Christ and as you remain in him may he produce the fruits of godliness inyour life. Amen