[This is one in a series of mid-week Reflections published by Horley Baptist Church during August 2020]
It’s that time of year when autumn seed catalogues start dropping into our inboxes, encouraging us to prepare for bumper crops of our favourite fruit and vegetables next Spring, but only if we buy from the right company. Each vendor has an idea of what would be ideal for our particular garden; the tastiest tomatoes, the largest leeks or the reddest roses. They all make the same basic assumption – namely, that we have some time and money to spend on our gardens.
Gardens come in all shapes and sizes. Be it the formality of a country estate, the discipline of an award-winning allotment, a back yard plot or simply a humble window box, they all have one thing in common – to be productive they must be tended. In many countries the garden provides food for the family; it’s where they grow the essentials of life and if it is not tended properly then hunger soon follows.
Gardens often have a spiritual significance. For Muslims, paradise is a well-watered garden whilst for Japanese Shinto adherents it is an area of minimalist calm and natural order. In the Bible we see many references to gardens, from the Garden of Eden where it all began to the Garden of Gethsemane where it all began, again. In the NIV Old Testament there are 52 references to ‘garden’; does this suggest that we should spend time in our gardens at least once a week?
Jesus told a parable about a man who was dissatisfied with the produce from his garden.
‘“For three years now I’ve been coming to look for fruit on this fig-tree and haven’t found any. Cut it down! Why should it use up the soil?” “Sir,” the gardener replied, “leave it alone for one more year, and I’ll dig round it and fertilise it. If it bears fruit next year, fine! If not, then cut it down.”’ Luke 13 v 6-9
As Christians, we have a relationship with God that needs to be cultivated, tended and maintained. What is the equivalent of “I’ll dig round it and fertilise it” for us? It requires effort and diligence plus the addition of spiritual nourishment. It is not something that we can delegate to a gardener – we have to do it ourselves, with God’s help.
So, at the risk of invoking an annoying little ditty from one’s childhood, “How does your garden grow?”
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Contributed by Steve Humphreys; © the Author
