The days grow longer and signs of spring abound. It’s time to plant the garden. Depending on where you live, you may already have seeds in the ground. I do. The “cold tolerant” vegetables such as lettuce, spinach, and beets, do well early in the season. Whereas the tender tomato plants must wait until the threat of frost is gone. The Farmer’s Almanac will tell you, it’s important to sow generously and wisely to achieve a bountiful harvest.
The Apostle Paul speaks of the need to sow generously in his letter to the Corinthian church.
Remember this: Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously.
2 Corinthians 9:6 NIV
Most often people quote this passage in regard to giving money to the poor or to the church. It insinuates that the more money you give, the more abundantly you will receive riches in return. But I think this misses an important point and makes promises that simply aren’t true. What if reaping generously doesn’t refer to physical riches at all but the spiritual gain achieved any time our hearts and hands our open?
Whenever our hearts are open to those around us, it follows that our hands will be open to give. Money is only a small part of this giving. A smile, a hand up, a word of encouragement are invaluable assets in God’s economy. Sowing these seeds of joy reap an overflowing harvest of love and gratitude for the Sower and all those around them. Joy multiplies joy.
But the opposite is also true. Bitterness multiplies bitterness. It sours all other relationships. A bitter heart is a greedy heart. It sees itself as a victim and others as not deserving of gifts. A bitter person holds tightly to the hurt which caused the bitterness and allows it fester like an open wound. If only, they would open their heart, let go of the bitterness, and plant it in the fertile soil of forgiveness. By relinquishing the bitterness to the ground, it will die. Only then will the hurt have an opportunity to grow into a means of helping others experiencing similar pain.
Listen carefully: Unless a grain of wheat is buried in the ground, dead to the world, it is never any more than a grain of wheat. But if it is buried, it sprouts and reproduces itself may times over. In the same way, anyone who holds on to life just as it is destroys that life. But if you let it go, reckless in your love, you’ll have it forever, real and eternal.
The words of Jesus in John 12:24-26 Message Bible
In death, there is new life.
So, fling aside the cares that hold you back. Sow the seeds of joy generously and remember to plant wisely when the time is right. Let go of all bitterness, burying it in the soil of forgiveness. Then the garden of your life will grow with abundance producing fruit worthy of God’s Kingdom: a spiritual harvest of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. *
*Galatians 5:22-23
I always appreciate the lessons we learn from nature. I miss the garden my husband and I used worked on together. I’m so glad you have the blessing of gardening and you take the time to share with us the wisdom from God’s creation. Wishing you a kind growing season and a bountiful harvest (in more ways than one). Blessings!