July 2, 2007
How Does Your Garden Grow?
Happy Birthday America! As I write this, neighborhood firecrackers and bottle rockets are going off (illegally here in Illinois by the way) in preparation of July 4th just a couple days away. So thoughts of summer are what’s on my mind this writing.
As you know, we moved into a lovely apartment complex a year ago, and one of the things I left behind was a shady and not too productive little garden. But we usually got a few tomatoes each summer and I liked growing my own jalapeño and some other varieties of hot peppers. So this year we decided to establish a small “garden” in some large pots on our patio. We went to the nursery and chose our plants carefully, got the mushroom compost potting soil the man there assured us would grow the best tomatoes and we went home and planted our garden of two tomato plants and three each of two kinds of peppers in three large plastic containers.
And then we watched and waited. Our wait was brief, for almost immediately all the plants really began to grow … and grow. They got taller and leafier and soon began to blossom. This was so much fun! I could just look out my patio door and almost on a daily basis see progress in my garden. This was so exciting!
Then after about a month or so, suddenly two then four then five little tiny tomatoes appeared! We were really going to have homegrown tomatoes this summer. I could hardly wait! And then … nothing! The days and now several weeks have passed with no more tomatoes and no peppers showing up! There are still some blossoms, so Den won’t let me give up yet, but why big tall leafy plants with blossoms but no fruit?
Well, spiritual lesson time. I kept thinking about how frustrated I am because my plants were growing leaves but no fruit and suddenly wondered how God must feel when He looks and sees us grow big and strong, produce blossoms (the promise of fruit), but then stop and never produce any spiritual fruit in our lives. Den and I spent a whole afternoon carefully choosing our plants, the soil and the containers to put them in. We planted them deep, watered and fertilized them regularly. We did all we could do as gardeners, but so far the plants have fallen way short of my expectations for growing fruit. We didn’t plant tomatoes plants to have tall leafy plants. We planted tomatoes plants because we wanted ripe, red tomatoes!
How God must look at us and remember how carefully He chose us, planted us in a family of believers to nurture us, He watered us with His word, fertilized us with the guidance of the Holy spirit, even pruned us to help us grow and all we do is grow tall and sturdy and come forth with lots of leaves and maybe blossoms. But then like my garden, we stop and perhaps look, and find our Gardener as disappointed in our spiritual development as I am in my plants. God didn’t choose us for redemption to grow just leaves. He saved us to produce fruit!
Last night I was reading in Mark, and in chapter 11 (Mark 11:12-14, and 11:20-26) is the story of Jesus and the fig tree. Remember that one? During His last week on earth, Jesus was walking to Jerusalem from Bethany and saw a fig tree in full leaf, which also meant full of fruit. The scripture says it was not the right season for this, but in spite of that, leaves on a fig tree equals fruit. So, since the verse says He was hungry, He went over to pick some figs for breakfast and discovered none – not a fig to behold. Only leaves!! And what was Jesus’ response? He cursed that tree and said no one would ever eat from it again! Wow! This is that compassionate and loving Savior we all know and love, right? Yes, but this is also the heavenly Fruit Inspector who had no patience with a healthy leafy fig tree that didn’t produce fruit! And the next day when Jesus and his disciples walked by again, the fig tree had withered up from the roots. The disciples were astounded at what they had seen.
Again, I thought of my tomato and pepper plants. Just like the real Gardener, after the planting, watering, fertilizing and pruning is done, the frit bearing is the plant’s responsible. That’s true of my tomatoes and of me. God has done all He can do to help me grow and mature into the woman of faith that He wants me to be. Whether I produce fruit in my life, either in my maturing and demonstrating spiritual fruit, or whether I am duplicating myself by witnessing and leading other to the Lord, that fruit production is my responsibility. Just like I can’t form peppers out of those blossoms in my garden, God can’t make spiritual fruit out of my will and heart either. I have to witness, share the gospel with someone, and lead them to Christ; I have to grow in the love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness and self-control fruit in my life. God doesn’t wave a magic wand – no He gardens and depends on me to produce the fruit.
During my days of frustration with my nearly fruitless garden, it has caused me to ponder if I’m growing for God the fruit He is desiring in my life, or like my plants, am I only growing leaves. Food for thought. How is your garden growing?
Until next time…
Ruthann Gleason, The Parson’s Wife
