Tending To Your Garden
One of my favorite flowers is the gerbera daisy. When I plant gerbera daisy seedlings in our garden, what do I expect to grow? Tulips? Roses? Of course not. I expect to grow a plant with a large colorful flowering head. I want to reap what I sow.
Gerberas are native to South Africa and are in the Asteraceae family, related to marigolds and sunflowers. They come naturally in a wide range of colors, however, if you see them in blue or green, that is due to artificial coloring. While most other flowers absorb toxins and carbon dioxide during daytime hours, the gerbera daisy will do this at night. Thus, not only is it a very decorative and cheerful flower, but because of its ability to produce high levels of oxygen at night while removing harmful chemicals from the air, it is also a beneficial plant to have near your bed, especially if you suffer from respiratory ailments. And since the gerbera daisy stem does not hollow out like other flowers, they have exceptional vase life, often lasting up to ten days.
Like all plants, in order for gerbera daisies to be healthy and grow, they need good soil and proper growing conditions. The same goes for us as human beings. In order for us to be healthy, we too need good soil and proper growing conditions.
If you sit around in the evenings regularly eating potato chips and bacon horseradish dip, what do you expect the results to be? You surely do not anticipate losing weight. And if the only exercise you get is walking from the couch to the refrigerator, that is not really an effective fitness program. But on the contrary, if you eat healthy and exercise regularly, you can expect to gain strength and flexibility, improve your mental and physical health, and probably even control your weight. You reap what you sow.
We understand the reaping and sowing principle when caring for our body (physical being), but we sometimes neglect that same principle when it comes to our spiritual being (soul). We need to regularly engage (sow) in spiritual practices in order to experience (reap) spiritual growth. We must actively cultivate and tend to the soil of our lives. We will reap what we sow.
Galatians 5 contrasts acts of the flesh and fruit of the Spirit. I encourage you to read both lists, found in Galatians 5:13-26. Engaging in the acts of the flesh (unhealthy soil) often produces a momentary burst of pleasure but ultimately leaves you dissatisfied and empty, whereas the fruit of the Spirit (healthy soil) produces growth and fruitfulness. The former brings death while the latter brings life.
One chapter later, in Galatians 6:7-9, we read this warning, “Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows. Whoever sows to please their flesh, from the flesh will reap destruction; whoever sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life. Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.”
Whereas good soil and proper growing conditions do not always guarantee healthy and beautiful gerbera daisies, God’s Word tells us that if we partner with the Holy Spirit (we cannot do it under our own power), the Spirit guides us into truth (John 16:13), gives us strength to resist temptation (John 16:8), gives us wisdom in our choices (1 Corinthians 2:12-14), all of which ultimately help us have healthy soil that produces beautiful and lasting results. Here is what we find in Psalm 92:12-15, “But the godly shall flourish like palm trees and grow tall as the cedars of Lebanon. For they are transplanted into the Lord’s own garden and are under his personal care. Even in old age they will still produce fruit and be vital and green. This honors the Lord and exhibits his faithful care. He is my shelter. There is nothing but goodness in him!” (TLB).
So, are you carefully and regularly cultivating and tending to your garden? What you grow depends upon it. You reap what you sow.
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