Real Gardeners don’t have green thumbs. To get something to
grow, the underbelly of your fingernails have to be stained with dark brown
dirt. Gardeners spend more time digging in the mud than profiting from the
crops they grow. Why do you think so few people actually garden? It’s not
because they can’t. It’s because some days, gardening is 90 percent hard work
and 10 percent patience, and other days it’s 10 percent hard work and 90
percent patience.
Our lives are saturated in comfort and speed. If you can’t
think of any examples just go to your fridge or cupboards. Half of the food in
a person’s house is precooked and full of flavor. It’s quick and delicious.
The New Testament is overabundant with parables relating to
farming. But only 2% of American’s are farmers. Chances are you’re not a
farmer, so these parables may be lost on you. As Kryptonite is to superman,
speed and comfort is to farming. It’s dirt under your fingernails hard work.
As an heir to the throne of God, we are supposed to be
gardeners for God. When Adam fel,l his punishment was to toil painfully for
the food that he would eat. Christians will have to toil against
trouble, like man would have to struggle against thorn. It’s a happy thought to
believe that being a Christian will be a quick and comfortable life. We hope to
have green thumbs and plenty of crops. But honestly, without digging in the
dirt nothing can grow.
A plant without water will die, and faith without works will too. So it’s easy to conclude that our
faith requires some action. Our friends, family, and associates are all
possible seeds for God’s kingdom. We can’t just sprinkle some water on them
every now and again, and then hope that a beautiful tree sprouts up one day.
Each and every one of these people need someone to get mud on their knuckles,
and dirt under their nails. God doesn’t give us a plethora of farming parables
so that we can quote them aimlessly on instagram and facebook. We are supposed
to read them, and then realize that a lot of work is required. Roll up your
sleeves brothers and sisters, it’s time to get a little muddy.
But someone will say, ‘You
have faith and I have works.’ Show me your faith apart from your works, and I
will show you my faith by my works.
No comments:
Post a Comment