January 18, 2008

"And what is the seed that fell on the good ground? That is like the people that hear God's teaching with a good, honest heart. They obey God's teaching and patiently make good fruit." Luke 8:15

I know it's the middle of January, but I am thinking of summer. I love summer and all the fresh vegetables that are so abundant in South Georgia that time of year. My favorite? Tomatoes. Lewis Grizzard once said,

"It's difficult to think anything

but pleasant thoughts

while eating a homegrown

tomato."

Just a little over a decade ago I tried my hand at growing tomatoes. In the middle of the summer, there simply is nothing better than the taste of a homegrown tomato…. especially sliced and placed between two slices of white bread with a dollop of mayonnaise. I heard John Denver sing this one time...

“Home grown tomatoes,

home grown tomatoes.

What would life be like without homegrown tomatoes?

Only two things that money can't buy.

That's true love and home grown tomatoes.”

With that thought in mind, I recall asking my father, an experienced tomato gardener for some tips on growing tomatoes. He told me, "the most important thing about growing any garden is the proper preparation of the soil. Tomatoes need loose, rich soil so they can spread their roots quickly."

I listened to my father's advice, prepared the soil, planted the tomato plants, and watered them. To my amazement. my first tomato crop was a huge success. The next spring I decided to grow tomatoes again. Unfortunately, I did not reap such a great harvest this time. My entire tomato crop was a disaster! I called my father and he diagnosed the problem right away...blossom rot. I had failed to replenish and enrich the soil. With out the proper nutritents in the soil, my crop was doomed.

There are lots of spiritual lessons to be learned from gardening. Just like the experienced gardener who willingly gives advice to the new gardener, our Heavenly Father does the same for His children. If we listen to the Master Gardener, He will show us how to prepare the ground of our heart so that the seed of His Word can be planted to yield a crop of righteousness. He will also provide the proper mixture of spiritual elements that will bring forth good fruit.