Thought for Today
Genesis 2:8 And the Lord God planted a garden in Eden, in the east; and there he put the man whom he had formed.
Isaiah 58:11 The Lord will guide you continually, and satisfy your needs in parched places, and make your bones strong; and you shall be like a watered garden, like a spring of water, whose waters never fail.
John 18:1 After Jesus had spoken these words, he went out with his disciples across the Kidron valley to a place where there was a garden, which he and his disciples entered.
John 19:41 Now there was a garden in the place where he was crucified, and in the garden there was a new tomb in which no one had ever been laid.
Greta is our family gardener. She likes to tend her gardens, examining each and every plant, blossom and flower, trimming off spent foliage and gently encouraging each individual plant. I am pretty good at digging holes and sawing off branches. God created a garden on earth for humanity. “Genesis 2:15 The Lord God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to till it and keep it.” Regrettably, humanity forgot to heed the warning label! Genesis 3:8 tells us that God walked “in the garden at the time of the evening breeze.” We tend to favor working in our garden in the early morning. There are fewer mosquitoes in the morning than in the evening.
If you are not a gardener, or do not even like gardeners, you might want to skip to the end and go on about your own morning rituals. Otherwise, do you find peace, beauty and serenity in your garden? We both do. We went out this morning to work on the flower beds in the back (east side) of the house. We went out “while the dew is still on the roses.” The front of the house is the side we present to the public, to anyone driving by. The back of the house is where we spent our leisure time, where we can sit on our patio and watch the birds and the wildlife in the field. During the pandemic, the back is where we spent long hours gardening, watching the birds swoop and soar, listening to music and restoring our souls.
Gardens feature prominently in our cultural milieu. We describe an idyllic setting as a Garden of Eden. Christians know that in his most troubled time, Jesus went with his closest disciples to pray in the Garden of Gethsemane. Do we feel close to God in our gardens because of Genesis 2:15, or maybe because of 3:8? Do we view gardens as our assigned task and responsibility? Or do we remember and experience the words of that hymn, “And he walks with me, and he talks with me, and he tells me I am his own. And the joy we share as we tarry there, none other has ever known”? For me, it’s some of both.
When I work in the garden, feeling the soil between my fingers, nurturing the flowers and trees we have planted, I feel very close to our Creator God. I feel that I am fulfilling the task God intended, keeping the garden God created. I feel much the same when I lead worship in our church, the garden of faith God planted in the hearts of God’s children. God called me to ministry, to be a pastor to God’s flock. Similarly, for each of God’s children, as we use the talents God has given us in service to God, we are fulfilling the purpose for which God created us.
It is interesting to read Paul’s words about the gifts of the Spirit in his first letter to the church in Corinth, “12:4 Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit; 5 and there are varieties of services, but the same Lord; 6 and there are varieties of activities, but it is the same God who activates all of them in everyone. 7 To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good.” Paul then goes on to enumerate many of the gifts. He left out gardening; but, I believe gardening, the talent to nurture growing things, and the love of nurturing growing things (plants and people) is a gift of the Spirit.
We are all called by God to God’s service. Some are provided one gift to use in God’s service, some another. Some even seem to get multiple gifts. Think today about your own gift (or gifts). To shamelessly misquote the Tao of Peter Parker (Spiderman), “With great gift(s) comes great responsibility.” How are you using your gift(s)?
Stay safe, serve God, trust God,
Pastor Ray