How Does a Garden Grow?

First published in The Daily Sentinel, Friday, Aug. 10, 2007

Drive around this area during the summer and you’ll see garden after garden – in backyards, side yards, and even a few front yards. My wife and I joined the gardening movement last summer. We prepped an area back behind the parsonage and planted lettuce, spinach, summer squash, zucchini, and butternut squash.

Garrison Keillor (of A Prairie Home Companion) tells the story about people locking their cars in Lake Wobegon starting in late July and early August. Not because they’re afraid their cars will be stolen, but to protect themselves from a more sinister danger. It seems Ralph went to the hardware store to pick up a box of nails and forgot to lock the car. During the six minutes that he was in the store, someone discovered the back seat was unlocked and filled the entire car with green zucchini!

That’s the way I felt about all the butternut squash from last year’s garden. There was too much!!! So we were smart this year; we didn’t plant ANY butternut squash. But, lo and behold, three different butternut squash plants “volunteered” themselves to this year’s garden. Once again, my butternut runneth over!!

The growing garden made me think about spiritual growth. What makes a Christian grow? Jesus told several stories about the kingdom of God being like seeds planted in a field: “A man scatters seed on the ground. Night and day, whether he sleeps or gets up, the seed sprouts and grows, though he does not know how. All by itself the soil produces grain – first the stalk, then the head, then the full kernel in the head. As soon as the grain is ripe, he puts the sickle to it, because the harvest has come.” (Mark 4:26-29).

The growth, said Jesus, happens all by itself. That means it must be God’s work to make it grow! I can prep the soil, plant the seeds, add water when needed, but the growing part – the hardest part – happens without me doing anything.

It’s the same for Christians. We can read Scripture, pray, give generously and sacrificially, worship with others, help others in need – all those things we know that we should be doing. But all of our work is in vain without God doing the divine part – growing us into becoming more like Jesus Christ. That’s what salvation is to me – growing to be so much like Jesus that there’s no room for sinful Kerry anymore.

The Apostle Paul said salvation is a process – running a race to “win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 3:14) We are intended to be growing, running, never standing still or accepting the status quo. If you feel dead, when was the last time you opened yourself to the Giver of Life? If your personal life is so full of weeds – bad relationships, bad habits, unforgiveness, bitterness – when was the last time you allowed God to prune away the junk?

Yes, this is a busy season. The garden must be harvested. Meigs County Fair is next week. School’s just another couple of weeks away. But don’t forget God’s part of your life. If you’ve taken a break from worshipping on Sunday (or Saturday or any other day of the week), then get back to church! If you’ve not read your Bible, prayed, or told someone else how much God loves them – get busy!! God’s got a lot of growing in you to do!