In the Studio: The Gardener is patient

"Then Jesus used this illustration: "A man planted a fig tree in his garden and came again and again to see if there was any fruit on it, but he was always disappointed.  Finally, he said to his gardener, 'I've waited three years, and there hasn't been a single fig!  Cut it down.  It's taking up space we can use for something else.'
The gardener answered, 'Give it one more chance.  Leave it another year, and I'll give it special attention and plenty of fertilizer.  If we get figs next year, fine.  If not, you can cut it down.'"  (Luke 13:6-9)

When I first planted my vegetable seeds, I planted them in little pots while I waited for them to germinate.  I watered them and left them in a place that I thought was the right kind of temperature and then I waited.  I watered them again and waited some more.  I checked the seeds often, still no sign of growth.  I reread the instructions to see how long I should have to wait, the days were creeping up.  I continued waiting and still there remained no sign of growth.

Eventually it reached a point where it really seemed something should have appeared by then.  If you have read my previous post you will know that I was already battling doubts that the seeds would grow before I had even planted them!  Well this lack of green didn't inspire much hope but I was not going to give up.   I decided to dig up one of the seeds to see what was going on under the soil.  Would you believe it....nothing!  The seed looked exactly like it did the last time I saw it.  I scoured the internet trying to find out what I was doing wrong.  Did they need more water?  Had I given them too much?  What about the temperature?  Were they just being lazy?!  I decided to try increasing the heat a little so followed the advice of many and put a plastic sheet over the top of their container.  Then I continued to wait.

A few days later there was growth!  But not the kind I wanted.  The plastic sheet had increased the temperature, making things nice and humid.  Seeds are not the only thing that like to grow in humid conditions, so does mould.  The only appropriately sized pots I had been able to find at the garden centre were made of organic material, and with the damp soil and extra  warmth created by the plastic sheeting, a little mould had started to appear on the outside of these pots.  I was mortified.  The doubts in my head got louder "This is ridiculous, give up!  Can you really do anything about this?  It's all ruined, you failed."
I ignored these thoughts  and instead went straight to our nearest B&Q where I found some small plastic pots.  I tipped the seeds out, placed them in the new pots with some new soil and put them back in their position under the plastic sheeting.  Then I waited some more.

Approximately three days later and what did I see?

I saw lots of tiny plants sprouting up out of the soil!  I was amazed and utterly overjoyed.  I was so glad that I hadn't given up.  As I sat back that night and thought about it all, I realised God had something to say to me about it:  Just like I didn't give up on the seeds, God does not give up on us.  God loves his plants and he knows what they are capable of, he desires to see them grow.  If his plants do not start growing or producing fruit, he doesn't just give up or throw them into the fire in a fit of rage or frustration.  God is patient and he cares.  He gives the seeds a chance.  As it says in Luke 13, he gives them "special attention and plenty of fertilizer." 

I think sometimes he tweaks our growing conditions just as I had to with the seedlings.  Maybe he alters our physical conditions as he guides us to move to a new house or job in a new town or country.  Maybe he encourages growth by changing the group of people that we socialise with, orchestrating situations that allow us to cross paths with new people who will encourage us or inspire growth, or making situations that allow us to drift away from people who hinder growth.  It could be that the special tweaking he does is not physical, but spiritual.  Where it talks about fertilizer, maybe he gives us extra food - he might bring extra reading material or sermons onto our path by a variety of means with particular messages he would like us to hear so that we can grow in a particular way or learn a particular lesson in a season that might lead to a sudden growth spurt.

When I think about what plants need to grow, it includes light, water and food.  As Christians, I believe we need the same thing but in spiritual form!  You may or may not be familiar with the children's song, 'read your bible pray every day and you'll grow, grow, grow."  As Christians we need to feed ourselves spiritually so we can grow spiritually;  we need to read the bible and pray so we become familiar with God's ways and live life accordingly.  If we do this we will grow spiritually.

"Jesus said to the people, "I am the light of the world.  
If you follow me, you won't be stumbling through the darkness, 
because you will have the light that leads to life."" 
 (John 8:12)

If we need light and God is the light, we need to spend a lot of time in his presence.  Jesus withdrew often and spent time alone with God.  I think it is important to spend time alone in prayer.  This will increase our individual growth as well as the growth of the Kingdom of God on Earth as we pray his will be done.  Plants convert the light into energy and I think it is the same for us as we spend time in his presence, we will find we have the energy to do all that he asks of us.  If we stay in the light you will probably find that bad things don't like to grow there.  I have had a lot of slug issues in the garden recently and the reason they are a problem is because they don't live in the light; during the day they find a dark, damp place to hide making it difficult to get rid of them and then at night when it's dark they come out of hiding and run riot in the garden, causing a lot of damage and eating all the beautiful plants that I care for!  This reminded me that if we live in the spiritual light, keeping nothing hidden, it will also stop 'spiritual pests' from taking up residence in us and hindering our growth or causing all sorts of other damage.

"People who cover their sins will not prosper.
But if they confess and forsake them, they will receive mercy."
(Proverbs 28:13)

As well as light, plants need water, it is key for their growth.  In the Bible Jesus talks about water a lot.

"If you are thirsty, come to me!  If you believe in me, come and drink!
For the Scriptures declare that rivers of living water will flow out from within."  
(When he said "living water", he was speaking about the Spirit,
 who would be given to everyone believing in him...)"  
(John 7)

We need to draw up good clean spiritual water if we are to grow.  God guides us by his holy spirit and this brings good growth.  As well as giving us his holy spirit, he has given us his word - the bible.  We can think of reading the bible as taking in spiritual food.  His holy spirit will help us to understand what we read and with both, we can grow strong.

"You must crave pure spiritual milk so that you can grow into the fullness of your salvation. 
 Cry out for this nourishment as a baby cries for milk,"  (1 Peter 2:2)

"And a person who is living on milk isn't very far along in the Christian life
 and doesn't know much about doing what is right.  Solid food is for those who are mature, 
who have trained themselves to recognise the difference between right and wrong 
and then do what is right."  (Hebrews 5:13-14)

As mentioned above there are different types of spiritual food - milk and the solid stuff.  Just like babies, we should start with the simple stuff  ('milk') and then as we take that in, we will grow and become big enough to take in the 'solid food'.  The taking in of this spiritual food is our own responsibility.  Yes we can go to church and listen to the preacher's sermon and this will help up to grow, but Sunday only comes around once a week, and if you only eat once a week you won't grow very much or very quickly!  It is our responsibility to draw close to God the rest of the week as well, reading the bible and taking time to listen and pray.

So have a little think.  Are you getting all the basic things you need to grow?  Are you living in the light, in the presence of God?  Are you taking up enough food and water?  
If you feel malnourished, weak, fruitless or as if you have stopped growing, don't worry...God has not forgotten you and he won't give up!  He won't leave you in barren state but rather desires to see you grow and blossom and produce good fruit.  I firmly believe he will help you to do this if you call out to him.