As long as I can remember, I have heard stories from the Bible about farmers and plants and growing things, and while I have understood them and they make sense… I don’t think they ever resonated with me very much. At least not in the same way that these stories and analogies affect others. I think I always just wondered why there were so many stories in Scripture for farmers! As for us… L and I have never had much luck in keeping house plants alive. And I told all of you about my one day working on the farm when I was a teenager... it did not go very well! Because of my experience, the past 20 years or so while living abroad L and I often talked about wanting to get a townhouse or a condo when the Lord brought us back to the U.S. That way we would not have to waste money on buying a mower and other yard equipment or waste time in doing lawn work. Somehow, I had developed a pretty judgmental attitude towards people keeping up their lawns in America - that the only reason people would do so would be to show off or to keep up appearances.
Well… it might be because I am in a different season of life then when I was younger, but I am now amazed by how much of the Bible talks about gardens and growing and seasons and harvests. I think about Psalm 1:3, which reads, “He is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither. Whatever he does prospers.” Or Galatians 6:9, which says, “Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.” Verse after verse that use agricultural themes to describe what it means to live a life of faith.
On top of seeing Scripture in a new light, we now own our own home. And I have to admit… I have a compulsion to take care of my yard. To keep it up. To make it look better. I would even like to grow things, although I am still bad at it. Even now, I am looking out the back door and seeing how the weeds are taking over a section of the yard… and it is almost all I can think about! I just want to get out there and start pulling weeds.
Perhaps I am just getting old. But perhaps I am beginning to understand that we, as humans created in God’s image, still are under a mandate to subdue the earth, and bring order from chaos, and cultivate life out of the ground. There actually is an innate compulsion to do that kind of work - because that is what we were created to do! Many of you have understood this for a long time. Pray for me and the younger generations that just don’t quite understand the inherent Biblical nature of this. Pray that our young people would understand these truths many years before I did! I just hope that I can still improve a bit in my skills. Fortunately, the Lord has brought me to a church where I can learn a lot from my brothers and sisters!
We are going to be starting a new sermon series looking at the Kingdom Parables in Matthew 13 and elsewhere this Sunday. So, we will be talking about growing things (and weeds!) quite a bit. Please join us for worship if you are able!
Blessings to you all!
Pastor Aaron
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