Master Gardener

For as the earth brings forth its bud, as the garden causes the things that are sown in it to spring forth, so the Lord GOD will cause righteousness and praise to spring forth before all the nations. ~ Isaiah 61:11(NKJV)

When joy and happiness walk hand in hand, it’s a party in your heart! Our Master Gardener, God, knew this and used the concept of planting, sowing, growing, and harvesting all over the Scripture we read in The Bible. I love the scripture above, both as a believer and a gardener. I get great joy, that internal spiritual dance, when I think of all God has allowed to grow inside me as His child and as a gardener that is thrilled by the sight of tiny shoots coming up from the earth my hands have worked. I’m telling you, there is nothing you can buy that feels better than that!

I know how I feel when I see the labor of my hands, sweat and dedication bursting forth new life and a harvest to nourish my family. My guess is that every seed of the Word of God that sprouts in the lives of His people gives God the same feeling…on much more grand and godly scale, of course. That’s when joy and happiness walk hand in hand.

There is much work involved to prepare the soil and that is just the beginning. Daily plucking out of weeds that would suck the very life out of the plants, stealing their water and nutrients is a never ending task. No matter how many you pull one day, the next morning there are that many and more to do all over again. Every morning I do a garden inspection. I examine every section, looking for pests trying to devour my tender young plants. I carefully watch for the new growth and celebrate each new shoot straining its tiny head out seeking the sun. I stand over the bed and spray life-giving water by hand so I can make sure each individual variety gets just as much as it needs. When the beginning of fruit starts to show, I celebrate all over again! The vibrant reds of little radishes poking out of the soil thrill me. The ½” long squash are reason to dance. There is nothing as satisfying to a gardener as seeing his garden-child bear fruit. No wonder there is praise in heaven all the time! The Master Gardener is reapng a harvest of love.

We were commanded by Jesus to take the Gospel to Jesus to every nation and creature. We are to sow the seed of The Word across the world – no gloves required. The harvest will be magnificent and abundant. Let the harvest day of Thanksgiving begin and kick the party off right!