Gardener Pete

Early in my marriage, we owned a small house with a big overgrown field connected to our backyard. Like most newlyweds full of adventure and a sense of invincibility, we undertook ambitious plans to tame the field and create a garden which would stock our kitchen.

Our first attempt was to try to turn the earth by hand using shovels.  The field won round one.


The second attempt involved a garden tiller to break up the ground and prepare for seeding.  We were victorious, or at least we thought.  Within a few weeks, all of those weeds were growing back in full force mixed in with the seeds that we had planted.  The field won round two.

We continued to battle with the weeds and produced a meager crop.

Our second year was much more successful. With the perseverance of weeding and continuing to turn the earth, the fruits of our labor started to show in our second year and the garden produced enough for multiple homes on the street.

However, we weren't huge vegetable eaters. Even though we know it was good for us and will help keep us healthy, we were choosing simpler and quicker methods to eat. While we enjoyed the harvest of the garden, we didn't enjoy the frequent watering, weeding and feeding that the garden required.

So we stopped working the earth and the field began to overgrown with weeds again.  And we had an overgrown field behind us again.

This story pops to mind as I read the following verses:

While a large crowd was gathering and people were coming to Jesus from town after town, he told this parable: “A farmer went out to sow his seed. As he was scattering the seed, some fell along the path; it was trampled on, and the birds ate it up. Some fell on rocky ground, and when it came up, the plants withered because they had no moisture. Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up with it and choked the plants.  Still other seed fell on good soil. It came up and yielded a crop, a hundred times more than was sown.”

When he said this, he called out, “Whoever has ears to hear, let them hear.”

His disciples asked him what this parable meant. He said, “The knowledge of the secrets of the kingdom of God has been given to you, but to others I speak in parables, so that,

“‘though seeing, they may not see; though hearing, they may not understand.’

“This is the meaning of the parable: The seed is the word of God. Those along the path are the ones who hear, and then the devil comes and takes away the word from their hearts, so that they may not believe and be saved. Those on the rocky ground are the ones who receive the word with joy when they hear it, but they have no root. They believe for a while, but in the time of testing they fall away. The seed that fell among thorns stands for those who hear, but as they go on their way they are choked by life’s worries, riches and pleasures, and they do not mature. But the seed on good soil stands for those with a noble and good heart, who hear the word, retain it, and by persevering produce a crop."  - Luke 8:4-15

Jesus was talking in parables as He often did.  Not everyone is prepared to receive the seed or hear the 'Word'.  Like the overgrown field in our backyard, the hearts need to be prepared to receive the good news. In some cases, that may involve some serious work based on the condition of the heart.

And the work needs to be consistent.  Like a gardener, it needs to be a little bit of work every day, rather than trying to do 2 weeks of work in one sitting.  Reading one verse a day will bear way more fruit than sitting and reading a complete book once a month.  I can't tell you how many times I've gotten stuck on a single verse and then stopped reading that day just to let it soak in.

It is only when we get into that simple and repeatable rhythm can we hope to have 'good soil' and a 'good heart, who hear the word, retain it'.

We all know that God's Word - the Bible, is good for us.  We've all acknowledged that many times, perhaps as recently as our last church service.

But we are also really good at taking the easy road. We expect to be fed spiritually what we need to be fed.  We expect inspirational messages every week at church.  We expect that the verses we need in challenging circumstances will pop into our heads.  We expect that our children will learn to love their Bible by seeing us NOT read our Bible.

Jesus ends the parable with the most understated warning: "and by persevering produce a crop".

The 'persevering' encompasses times when we don't feel like opening our Bibles, when our schedules encroach our dedicated Bible time or when our normal routines are turned upside down from vacation or major life events.  What would happen to the garden if we left it alone for 3 or 4 weeks?  Would we even bother to tend it after it has become overgrown? We need to avoid all temptations to stop gardening.

The great thing about getting into the Word is that it isn't limited to a calendar growing season.  You can start planting today, work the soil and watch the crop emerge.  And that is the miracle of the Word, not only will it have significance in your life, it will bear fruit all around you.

How is your gardening going today?

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Thank you for taking the time to read one of the many Wandering Thoughts that God has been putting on my heart. If this has touched you in anyway, I would love to hear from you. You can leave a comment below and share your own personal revelations; or send me a personal message on Google+, Facebook or by emailing me.

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