(Written for The Round Farmhouse Ministries and published on February 10, 2024)
"𝙏𝙝𝙚𝙣 𝘾𝙝𝙧𝙞𝙨𝙩 𝙬𝙞𝙡𝙡 𝙢𝙖𝙠𝙚 𝙃𝙞𝙨 𝙝𝙤𝙢𝙚 𝙞𝙣 𝙮𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙝𝙚𝙖𝙧𝙩𝙨 𝙖𝙨 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙩𝙧𝙪𝙨𝙩 𝙞𝙣 𝙃𝙞𝙢. 𝙔𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙧𝙤𝙤𝙩𝙨 𝙬𝙞𝙡𝙡 𝙜𝙧𝙤𝙬 𝙙𝙤𝙬𝙣 𝙞𝙣𝙩𝙤 𝙂𝙤𝙙’𝙨 𝙡𝙤𝙫𝙚 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙠𝙚𝙚𝙥 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙨𝙩𝙧𝙤𝙣𝙜."
~Ephesians 3:17~ NLT
I find that the more I study the Bible, the more I realize just how much I don't know. What about you?
Occasionally, we may feel overwhelmed, like tender new shoots of grass under the threat of being smothered by relentlessly spreading roots of an invasive weed that winds along the earth's surface. Or, those prickly weeds that loom overhead, positioned to stab us with their thorny spikes, making us wary of taking any further steps forward on the path. But, when the roots of the purposeful plant run deep, are nurtured and cared for, that healthy plant will, in contrast, smother out the weeds.
In Luke 8:5-15, Jesus shared the parable of the farmer scattering seed, reminding his followers that only the seed landing on "good soil", when cared for and nurtured, "will produce a crop".
The fruits of our faith will ripen when the roots have grown deep into God's love. But, that doesn't just happen coincidentally. It's then that I remind myself that loving God and growing my faith is like tending a garden. "𝘼𝙣𝙙 𝙨𝙤 𝙬𝙚 𝙠𝙣𝙤𝙬 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙧𝙚𝙡𝙮 𝙤𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙡𝙤𝙫𝙚 𝙂𝙤𝙙 𝙝𝙖𝙨 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝙪𝙨. 𝙂𝙤𝙙 𝙞𝙨 𝙡𝙤𝙫𝙚. 𝙒𝙝𝙤𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙧 𝙡𝙞𝙫𝙚𝙨 𝙞𝙣 𝙡𝙤𝙫𝙚 𝙡𝙞𝙫𝙚𝙨 𝙞𝙣 𝙂𝙤𝙙, 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙂𝙤𝙙 𝙞𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙢.” 1 John 4:16 NLT By planting the seeds of our faith in good soil, that fertile ground of God's love, we discover the foundation that is based on His love. So, it only makes sense that we tend God's garden of love faithfully and continuously.
Fruitful and blossoming gardens require constant work in order to enjoy beautiful results. By exercising these four critical steps of the successful gardener, we may enjoy a fruitful and blossoming spiritual life and the gifts that God's love provides us.
Sᴛᴇᴘ 1: Wᴀᴛᴇʀɪɴɢ/ʀᴇᴀᴅɪɴɢ - Even when it is but a microscopic seedling, growth in our faith life will occur when we consistently read our Bible. The "good soil" of God's love is given to us freely in paper and ink, that we plant the seeds of curiosity and cultivate the fruits of understanding.
Sᴛᴇᴘ 2: Fᴇʀᴛɪʟɪᴢɪɴɢ/sᴛᴜᴅʏɪɴɢ - As the tiny sapling of understanding begins to break through, new growth will produce leaves and buds. When we take pieces of scripture and study their deeper meaning, the tiny branches of our faith life will become stronger and more robust.
Sᴛᴇᴘ 3: Sᴜɴʟɪɢʜᴛ/Aᴄᴛɪᴏɴ - The blossoms of beauty will burst open when exposed to the sunlight. So, as we boldly share our faith through discipleship and evangelism, the plant that is our maturing faith life will produce new shoots.
Sᴛᴇᴘ 4: Nᴜʀᴛᴜʀɪɴɢ/Pʀᴀʏᴇʀ - The plant, at all stages, needs constant nurturing in the form of love. As our faith life grows, we nurture it by making time often for prayer. God's love for us knows no end, but it can only begin with us planting our roots in it.
Just as the mature plant will now freely present an abundance of exquisite blooms for all who look on it to enjoy, by allowing our roots to grow deep into the Word, the Spirit will give us the capacity to love profoundly and unreservedly.
"𝙇𝙤𝙫𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙇𝙤𝙧𝙙 𝙮𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙂𝙤𝙙 𝙬𝙞𝙩𝙝 𝙖𝙡𝙡 𝙮𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙝𝙚𝙖𝙧𝙩 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙬𝙞𝙩𝙝 𝙖𝙡𝙡 𝙮𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙨𝙤𝙪𝙡 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙬𝙞𝙩𝙝 𝙖𝙡𝙡 𝙮𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙢𝙞𝙣𝙙 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙬𝙞𝙩𝙝 𝙖𝙡𝙡 𝙮𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙨𝙩𝙧𝙚𝙣𝙜𝙩𝙝." Mark 12:30 NLT
In his book, The Inner Voice of Love: A Journey Through Anguish to Freedom, Henri Nouwen writes, "The more you are called to speak for God's love, the more you will need to deepen the knowledge of that love in your own heart. The farther the outward journey takes you, the deeper the inward journey must be. Only when your roots are deep can your fruits be abundant."
Paul, in his letter to the Ephesians, expressed, through prayer, his desire for all Christ followers, to "remain steadfastly fixed in our love to God" and likened it to having roots grow deep into God's love to keep that connection fresh and alive. He goes on to say, "Then Christ will make His home in your hearts as you trust in Him. Your roots will grow down into God's love and keep you strong. And may you have the power to understand, as all God's people should, how wide, how long, how high, and how deep His love is. May you experience the love of Christ, though it is too great to understand fully. Then you will be made complete with all the fullness of life and power that comes from God." Ephesians 3:17-19 NLT
I pray this also:
Father God,
Thank You for the blessing of Your love, that deep and rich soil into which we can root our love for You. We pray Lord, that as we tend to our gardens, we follow the steps necessary to nurture the tiny seeds into glorious blooms of faith, love, and devotion to You. Let us work hard to cultivate strong branches and to eradicate the thorns and weeds that threaten our tender blooms. May we tend our gardens of faith knowing that we are fully and completely loved by You.
In Jesus' Name we pray,
Amen
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