When gardening, one always starts with the end in mind. There is always a sort of rigorous planning and planting, but soon it is all about maintenance and persevering in the commitment to keep the garden contained. This is also true of our spiritual gardens. At first our spirit dwells in a desert, with no living water and no plants. But as soon as Christ comes and changes our truth and understanding of the good news, He starts planting the first tree…The tree of freedom and salvation.
As we start walking an intentional road with Him, God starts bringing new plants to the garden and some beautiful flowers here and there. But like with all great gardens it needs commitment and attention and if you lose focus for just a second, all sort of weeds start coming up. Of course we immediately think how embarrassing it is to have weeds in our garden, so without much thought we try to hide it or yank it out as soon as possible, often breaking off the leaves but leaving the root.
And that is where the problem comes in: pride. We think that as long as no one else sees the weeds, we are okay. But pretty soon that weed comes up again and the embarrassment returns. So we get to a point when we put on some gloves and a hat and go sit with this weed, to pull it out root and all. Often we take with some sort of garden fork to help us go deep beneath the root, loosen it and then remove it. But there aren’t always these special shortcut tools in the spirit. Sometimes you can only use your hands. So you pray: ‘God please show me where in my life this seed came in. Where did this lie come in? How did it grow into such a strong root? When did I water this lie and started seeing it as one of the desired plants in the garden?’ Of course the most important question of all is ‘how do I get rid of it?’
And then God starts revealing things to you. Either He shows that the root is based on a lie or a fear or any other something that is not from God. But the truth is you can’t remove this root alone. God is the one with the true green fingers and as our relationship with Him matures, certain weeds can no longer survive. The soil becomes so pure that all the acidic weeds start dying, slowly, one by one.
And then after some time, other plants start growing where the weeds once stood; plants you thought were long dead but were only dormant for the season. Old desires or passions start to resurface and joy is restored. And so the garden grows more and more.
The key remains maintenance and commitment. What roots are disrupting the growth of your garden?
Comments