When God made man, He placed him in the garden to work, to learn, to love, and live. That same God wants to teach us… about food, about plants, about life, about Himself, about His love for us. The Lord is ready to speak… Are you listening? He’s teaching today in the garden.
Friday is the day when my time management skills are brought to the test. My aim is to finish all of my other tasks before 1 PM so that I still get a few hours of outside time before sundown. The Sabbath starts off sweeter if I can get a few hours in the garden. Since the days are longer and warmer, the incentive is even greater.
Today I managed to finish everything else by about 1:30 PM and went straight out into the front yard to start reclaiming my flower bed. The grass has been steadily invading from the borders since the start of spring. The time was ripe to take action before the roots were too deeply entrenched! Thankfully, the soft composted mulch and soil in this bed makes it very easy to pull out unwanted plants. Unfortunately, the same is true for the plants that I want to keep in the garden.
As I was pulling out the grass and weeds, I noticed that sometimes I would also find one of my daffodil bulbs in the clump. I spent many hours planting over 200 of them, and it would really hurt if they were destroyed so easily. Thankfully, I could gently extract them and replant them. But what if the situation was more sensitive?
As I was working I remembered the discourse that Christ gave about the wheat and the tares as an object lesson. He warns us not to try to remove the tares, saying, ” Nay; lest while ye gather up the tares, ye root up also the wheat with them.”– Matthew 13:29. There are definitely some people in the church who are exerting a toxic spiritual influence. Despite this, they may have such relationships with true believers that their sudden removal would cause more harm than good. We also are in danger of doing damage because we lack the fine discernment needed to complete this work. God will work to cleanse His church according His timing, and He will make sure that none of the wheat is lost in the process!
After I finished my time working on the borders, I took a step back. It always amazes me how just a little effort goes such a long way. The bed looked so much better. The benefits always seem to far outweigh the work invested in the garden.