Bible Study The Gardener....

[Guest]

I was in my garden a couple of days ago - looking at the various vegetables growing - cucumbers, tomatoes (I realize it is a fruit), corn, beans, etc - and I noticed a bunch a weeds growing. Having some time before I needed to go to work, I decided to work in the garden - removing as many weeds as I could.

It reminded me of the passage from Luke - Luke 15:1-11

1"I am the true vine, and My Father is the vinedresser.
2"Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit, He takes away; and every branch that bears fruit, He prunes it so that it may bear more fruit.
3"You are already clean because of the word which I have spoken to you.
4"Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself unless it abides in the vine, so neither can you unless you abide in Me.
5"I am the vine, you are the branches; he who abides in Me and I in him, he bears much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing.
6"If anyone does not abide in Me, he is thrown away as a branch and dries up; and they gather them, and cast them into the fire and they are burned.
7"If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you.
8"My Father is glorified by this, that you bear much fruit, and so prove to be My disciples.
9"Just as the Father has loved Me, I have also loved you; abide in My love.
10"If you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love; just as I have kept My Father's commandments and abide in His love.
11"These things I have spoken to you so that My joy may be in you, and that your joy may be made full.

1) Is God the vinedresser in the 'garden' of your life?

2) Do you grant Him access into your 'garden' to pull the weeds (sin) out of your life?

3) Are you too busy 'pulling the weeds' out of someone else's life, rather than letting God work in your 'garden'?

Prunning isn't easy - sometimes it 'damages' the branch, so that the branch might heal and produce fruit - retaining that which is alive and getting rid of the dead.

The Master Gardner is adept at pulling out the weeds and allowing the new seedlings to grow - to produce much fruit.

Abide in Him - let Him tend to the 'garden of your life'.

 

[lovely]

Thanks for the encouragement.
Another thing I notice in my garden...those weeds sure seem to grow faster than my plants. :

 

[tim-from-pa]

It's amazing how the principles of plant growth demonstrate spiritual principles nicely; thus Jesus used the analogy often.

We have a garden, too, and weeds are definitely hard to rototill out---- they keep on growing. I also find some interesting analogies between weeds and those who teach false doctrine. If you notice, weeds can grow over plastic barriers and stone by the measly amount of organic matter that falls on the top. But your garden plants can't grow on top of that. What does that teach? A weed feeds off of virtually nothing but organic filth and shallow "soil" it creates. "weeds" in the church are likewise, ever "learning": but not coming to the knowledge of truth, but feeding off of fleshy, shallow doctrine. Good plants need rich soil, likened unto the Word of God in order to grow.

That's just one example of the spiritual truths contained in plants.

 

[Guest]

What I noticed in my garden is that the weeds can grow over new seedlings - and if I am not careful when I am weeding, I can pull out the new seedling.

I look at how a new christian can sometimes be 'over weeded' - in that while good intentioned mature believers are trying to prune the new believer, if done too recklessly or over zealously - it can actually damage the new believer.

There are a lot of spiritual principles that can been seen in nature and gardening.

 

[handy]

I put in a yard and flower garden this year. For the yard, I had to chuck out rocks and level out rough spots. For the flowerbed, I had to make a small retaining wall. Because of the type of soil that we have in this area, I really needed to take a lot of time prepping the soil before planting. I mixed a lot of compost and other soil builders into the areas that I was going to plant. Then I had to till, till, till, until I had at least 4-6 inches of good soft soil ready to receive the seed. The yard was about 2700 square feet and the flowerbed about 30 sq feet, so I did a lot of tilling!

All this prep work put me in mind of how God works in our hearts and prepares us to hear and receive His Word. It seems a good example of what grace is all about, that while we were yet sinners, not only did He die for us, but He also starts to 'till the soil' to prepare our hearts to be regenerated.

I had never thought of this passage as a 'garden' passage before, but now I do:

For indeed the Jews ask for signs, and Greeks search for wisdom; but we preach Christ crucified, to Jews a stumbling block, and to Gentiles foolishness, but to those who are the called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the widsom of God. 1 Corinthians 1:22-24