Eccl. 3:1 — There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven...Today was soil preparation day for yours truly. Every one of the past five years I have planted some form of a garden, usually one in the spring and another for the fall. I usually plant a variety of vegetables, from cucumbers to bell peppers to broccoli. I've grown jalapenos, watermelon, strawberries, okra, zucchini, herbs of many varieties, green onions, lettuce and tried to grow a few others. Tried. And failed. This year I've added a lemon tree to my farmer's resume. Since I've just started planning my 2010 garden, I may add some berries, onions and cabbage. One day I'd love to grow grapes, though I understand they can be tricky to nurture.
Is. 28:24 — When a farmer plows for planting, does he plow continually? Does he keep on breaking up and harrowing the soil?
Is. 61:11 — For as the soil makes the sprout come up and a garden causes seeds to grow, so the Sovereign LORD will make righteousness and praise spring up before all nations.
But all planning must start with the soil because the soil is the most important element to the whole growing process. Where you plant your seed (or seedlings) determines how well they will grow. Example: my family used to live in a very rocky part of North Texas called the Cedar Mountains. Large hills were more like it. Down in Southwestern Dallas the rock is predominately limestone, with a lot of evergreen trees, thorns, thistles, and other less-desirable flora. Gardening was tough. My mom, who passed down her love of gardening, planted a garden out back of our house and had to do a LOT of soil prepping to get rid of the rocks underneath the topsoil. The bits of limestone were everywhere! She added good soil to the topsoil and did her best to grow a garden and, to the delight of her children, succeeded. Our delight was tempered a bit one year because she, in her wisdom, grew brussel sprouts and fed them to her children....
The soil is not much better where I live now. There's a lot of sand, clay and leaf compost around my house, a great mix for trees but not so much for gardens. You'll find that most farms are located where there is rich black soil and lots of sunshine. That ain't here. So I've struggled to find the right mix of soil for growing vegetables. I hope that this year I've finally got it with a new brew of three compositions layered and mixed for success. Or so I hope! I planted a rosemary bush and some broccoli seedlings this afternoon, so we'll see.
Solomon writes in Ecclesiastes that there is a time and season for everything. I'll bet he could plant a mighty fine garden! Throughout the centuries, farmers have deciphered those seasons and planned their crops according to their calculations. Isaiah asks rhetorically if a farmer keeps plowing the soil even after he has planted his seed. The obvious answer is, "No way!" Why? Because there is a time for plowing and a time for planting, a time for watering, a time for weeding, and a time for harvesting. The farmer plows the soil to get it ready for planting.
God does the same thing in the soil of our hearts. He initially prepares our hearts for the seed of the Gospel message and then, when that seed is planted, watered and grows, He harvests salvation. Then He sets to work all over again, though this time with a different crop in mind. He prepares the soil of our hearts through the Holy Spirit to plant and eventually reap righteousness and holiness. We have a part in the process from planting to reaping. I love how James puts it: "Get rid of all moral filth and the evil that is so prevalent and humbly accept the word planted in you, which can save (lit. "rescue or deliver") you." We can choose to take the seed of holiness God has planted through His Spirit and nurture it, make sure it has plenty of water, and enjoy the blessing of its growth. After all, God is still the gardener but we are the garden.
And so we have a responsibility as God's garden to do all that we can, under His all-sufficient grace, to nurture and water the seed of faith He has planted within us. Watering involves many things: digging deeper into His word, practicing various spiritual disciplines, and obeying the commands of Christ, just to name a few. Doing these things will cause righteousness to sprout forth from the soil of our hearts and bring God, the Great Gardener, a beautiful crop of glory.
Happy growing!
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