By Doug Creamer
Is the Soil Ready?
I can’t remember a spring when my garden was this far along so early. I normally get peas and potatoes going as early as possible, but to have tomatoes planted and my beans up already is hard for me to believe. We’ve had some warm weather despite the threat of frost earlier in the week. I am not alone in having my garden going so early.
I had a dump truck full of new soil brought in last fall. I am growing my vegetables in raised beds and they were getting low. Soil is such an important part of growing vegetables and flowers. Even with the new soil I am planning to add some fertilizer to give my vegetables a good fighting chance. I am optimistic and excited about the new growing season.
Working in the garden gives me such great pleasure. It is normally very peaceful. I love planting seeds and feeling the soil in my hands. The day I was planting was nice and cool and it felt great. As I was working, I thought a lot about Jesus telling the parable of the sower.
You remember that story…the farmer goes out to sow his seed. Some seed fell on the path, some in the rocky soil, some with the weeds, and finally, some in the good soil. We know that the seed is the Word of God and that the soil is the human heart. Some people reject God’s Word, that would be the seed on the path. Some accept it initially but eventually fall away because they have no roots. Some receive it but the cares of the world choke out what God wants to produce in their lives. Finally, the seed on the good soil is the heart that accepts God’s Word and it grows in them to produce a return.
Most of us know people who have never accepted the Word or asked Jesus into their hearts. Their hearts aren’t ready for Jesus or even the seeds that might lead them to Him. It makes me think that we need to help them work on their soil to get it ready to receive God’s love and His Word. Some people believe it is all about putting seed out there. How will that seed do any good unless it has some good soil in someone’s heart to grow?
How can we help someone’s heart be prepared to receive the seed of God’s Word? The place to begin is in prayer. We need to ask the Holy Spirit to help make the soil of their heart fertile and ready. Our role in that process is to love and accept people where they are in life. That does not imply that we must approve of their lifestyle. There is a difference between a person and their behavior.
A friend once explained it this way. Children will obviously do things that are wrong. As this parent explained, they discipline their children and then they sit down and play a game or do something with the child. He explained that the child needs to understand that the behavior was unacceptable but that he still loved them. I think it works the same way with people who are out of relationship with God. We can love them without condoning their lifestyle.
People want to be loved and accepted and I think God uses us to show them His love. Our love can soften hearts that are far from God and in a way call them home. Think about the prodigal son; the father ran out and threw his arms around his smelly and dirty son. We can’t expect people to clean up their lives before they come to God because we didn’t clean up our lives. It takes the forgiveness and mercy of Jesus to clean up a life. So our love, compassion, and understanding can draw the lost back to the God. The acceptance they find in our eyes will soften their hearts and prepare them for the life-giving seeds.
I want to encourage you to pray that the lost will come home. I also want to encourage you to ask the Holy Spirit to prepare the soil of their hearts to receive God’s love. Next, ask God what role you might play in preparing their hearts to receive God’s love, forgiveness, and acceptance. Spiritual gardening involves preparing the human heart for God’s love. It’s a process that involves love, patience, grace, and mercy. There are people you know who are waiting for you to come and work in the garden of their heart and help them find their way home to God’s love.
Contact Doug Creamer at PO Box 777, Faith, NC 28041or doug@dougcreamer.com
