There is a common saying that I’m sure that you are familiar with, and it seems to be very evident this month. It is “April showers, bring May flowers.” Or maybe it is “April snows bring May flowers.” As the flowers start to bloom and as nature comes back to life from its dead wintery slumber, gardening starts to become a popular and beloved activity this time of year, and I can understand why. There is something special about getting down and dirty by planting something into the earth. There is a unique feel to the dirt in your hands as you begin to plant new life, and to watch it bloom. Gardening can be an enjoyable and relaxing hobby as you watch your creation grow, sprout, blossom, and spread. There is the thrill of pruning and nurturing to see the effects that it can produce on what you are growing. Gardens are a beautiful and breathtaking result of your labors. On the flipside, it can be a frustrating activity too, as you may wonder why some things don’t grow as they should, or why some people ruthlessly destroy or damage what you are growing. There can be nothing more annoying than when someone walks through or on the area you have been tending to. So, why are we talking about gardening? In many ways, God is like a gardener and we are like His garden.
In the very beginning, we see God getting down and getting into the dirt with His creation in the Garden of Eden. Genesis 2:7 says, “then the LORD God formed the man of dust from the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living creature.” God formed and created Adam from the dust of the earth. He sculpted and created him the way that He wanted Him to be. He did the same with us as well. Psalm 139: 13 says “For you formed my inward parts; you knitted me together in my mother’s womb.” The psalmist describes how God personally made him. God gets down and gets into the dirt, He created you and me. He made us how He wanted us to be. He strategically “planted” us to be who we are. We are His workmanship, His garden, one can say.
But God getting into the dirt and His interacting with His creation/garden doesn’t stop there. Just as a gardener watches what blooms and grows, and then acts accordingly by giving more water, fertilizer, shelter, etc., we see that God does the same for us. God the Father watches over us. He listens to and answers our prayers and cries for help. He continues to feed, protect, shelter, and watch over us daily. He does all things for our ultimate good, whether we realize it or not. We see how God especially gets into the dirt with His creation through His Son. In the person of Jesus, God became man and entered into this world. Through His baptism, Jesus took on our sins and paid the penalty of God’s wrath for sin. He bore the curse of sin for us, as evident by the crown of thorns. According to Genesis 3:17-18, thorns are a consequence and curse of Adam’s sin. However, Christ took all of that away for us, and through faith, we are right with God. We are forgiven of all our sins by faith in Christ.
But the work of the gardener is not done just yet. Besides creating us, He is not done planting in us, and pruning just yet. Through faith, God is producing and planting fruit in us, His garden. Galatians 5:22-23 says, “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control.” Notice that it says “fruit.” not “fruits.” Why is that significant? Because the word “fruit” encompasses all of those things. You can’t have joy without patience. You can’t have love without faithfulness. You can’t have one of those things without the other, hence the word “fruit” and not “fruits.” God is producing all of those things in us, not just isolated qualities in that list. He is producing “love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control” in us through the Holy Spirit. He is growing these things in us. But how does He do this?
In John 15, Jesus says, “I am the true vine, and my Father is the vinedresser. Every branch in me that does not bear fruit he takes away and every branch that does not bear fruit he prunes, that it may bear more fruit … I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing.” We bear fruit by remaining and abiding in Jesus. We do that by clinging to Him in faith, by staying in the Word, and by using the Sacraments frequently and properly. It is through these things that God works in us. For as we remain in Christ, we see God at work in us, pruning, tilling, and weeding out of us our sinful behaviors, habits, and actions. Although God’s pruning and tilling may be painful and something we dislike, we know that it is for our ultimate good. For it helps Him to strengthen our faith and to help Him continue to produce His fruit in us. Fortunately, we have a patient gardener who waits for results and keeps on trying, even though we may not always see the results or what is growing. Paul comforts us in Philippians 1:6 by saying, “And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.” Certainly He will do it, and I cannot wait to see the end result.
Now as the summer continues and as more things come to life and bloom, let these things point you to your God. Let His creation remind you of how He gets down and in the dirt with His creation through your life and by what He has done for you through His Son. Let a beautiful flower or a fruit tree recall to your mind the truth that God is growing His fruit in you. Let a sprouting plant remind you that God is working in you and that He will bring His work to completion in you. In Jesus’ name, AMEN.
-Pastor Kooi
(Originally published in Emmaus Footprints, Vol. XIX, Number 11, June 2018)