What my garden taught me…

This year, after many years of not gardening because we moved and because I’m not great at keeping one up, we planted two raised garden beds. I used to have a big garden at our old house that required a lot of bending to weed and harvest. I’m not a fan of bending anymore, so Randy bought me two raised beds.

I bought heirloom seeds and planted both of them this spring after the cold weather left us. It was exciting to watch the little plants poke their heads up through the soil. I had high hopes for fresh lettuce, kale, green beans, onions, carrots, beats, zucchini, and cucumbers. I weeded and watered and watched over those beds every day. The plants were growing, and I couldn’t wait to harvest them.

Then one day I discovered that someone…who shall remain nameless…though I call them Chip and Dale…one among several chipmunks who visit our yard…dug a hole in one of my raised beds. I put the dirt back but damage had been done. I found a bigger hole in another spot sometime later, but the bigger problem was that the plants just weren’t doing well in that bed. The leaves were withering and others just weren’t growing like the second bed.

My point in writing this isn’t simply to complain about the woes of gardening, which is now at its seasonal end. I’ll never be great at this hobby even if I devoted a lot of time to it. But it has taught me a different lesson, quite by surprise.

In my nightly Bible reading before I turn out my light, I happened upon the parable of the sower and the seeds. Matthew 13:18-23 says this:

“Hear then the parable of the sower: When anyone hears the word of the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what has been sown in his heart. This is what was sown along the path. As for what was sown on rocky ground, this is the one who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy, yet he has no root in himself, but endures for a while, and when tribulation or persecution arises on account of the word, immediately he falls away. As for what was sown among thorns, this is the one who hears the word, but the cares of the world and the deceitfulness of riches choke the word, and it proves unfruitful. As for what was sown on good soil, this is the one who hears the word and understands it. He indeed bears fruit and yields, in one case a hundredfold, in another sixty, and in another thirty.”

When I ponder these words, I see that the first two types of soil where the seed falls might hear the word of God but nothing comes of it. The hearers are not changed by it and walk away unbelieving. I used to think that the third soil was also an indication of someone who did not believe, and often we are taught that only the fruitful person is the true believer. And for argument’s sake, and because I am not God that I can fully understand, I will admit that it is possible that only those who bear fruit belong to Jesus.

But what about the person who hears but is unfruitful? That person isn’t said to have the word snatched before he or she can grasp it. That person also doesn’t receive it with joy and then fall away. This person hears the word but it gets choked by the cares of this life so the person’s life doesn’t produce the fruit we expect to see in a believer.

Then the question arises, can someone who once heard the word, knows the truth, and perhaps even believed what was heard, even to the point of appearing to be committed to the Lord, but then walks away because of the deceitfulness of riches or cares of the world, still be saved?

I’m not going to claim to have a solid answer to this question though I did do a little searching for answers. And I know that it is not our “fruit” that saves us. If it did, then our works would have something to do with salvation. But the Bible teaches us that it is faith that saves. Faith in the work of the Lord Jesus Christ. Fruit is something we produce as we abide in Christ after we have that initial faith.

We also know that when we stand before the Lord, He will judge our works and some of us will pass the test of fire and our works will survive to be rewarded while others will be burned up, though we ourselves will be saved. Our works – those that remain – will determine rewards, not salvation. (1 Corinthians 3:12-14)

I realize that we cannot determine our doctrine from parables, so I share these thoughts loosely. That is, I am not saying that this parable tells me exactly which type of soil is that of a believer or an unbeliever. We can make inferences but I can’t be dogmatic.

But my garden showed me that soil just might make a difference in the quality of the harvest. (We did use different bags of soil in each garden bed.) And some of those seeds might have been snatched by birds or chipmunks before they had a chance. Or they began well and something came along – a bug? – something to eat away at what started out well. (One example? Our zucchini plant produced a lot of flowers that should have become vegetables, but only one zucchini grew. ALL of the other flowers shriveled due to some type of fungus or bug. The plants died, unfruitful except for one.) It never produced the crop I wanted.

Maybe we’re a lot like that third soil. If we don’t let the Word cultivate our hearts and continue to abide in Christ, spending time with Him, getting to really know and love Him, then how can we grow? Our soil might be just fine in the beginning, but if we don’t have the proper food or in the case of people, we let the world distract us, we won’t be of any use to the One who planted us in the first place.

We can learn a lot from the things God has put all around us on this earth if we are paying attention. Or maybe I’m just the kind of person who thinks in metaphors, but I think that my garden had a lot to teach me, even if it doesn’t have a lot to give me.

If we believe, may we be fruitful and not allow distractions or destructive pests of this world make us useless to the One who made us. And if you planted a garden this year, I hope you had a good harvest!

~Selah