I had the chance to do a good bit of teaching to our summer staff at camp in order to prepare them for their work at camp this summer. God is constantly working in our lives to shape us in the image of his son, and here at Bighorn we are striving to participate in that process in the lives of everyone who comes in here as well. So I thought it's be good for us to do some gardening together and gain a deeper understanding of the ways God works in us and in the lives of others too.
So...
God starts with a pretty barren piece of landscape; our heart. If you were to plant seeds on this soil right now, absolutely nothing would grow.
So God has a lot of tilling, churning, weeding, and aggravating to do in us to get out hearts prepared to receive his word so that it can actually take root in our lives.
A lot of times that preparation comes in the form of difficulty and suffering in our lives. It often takes suffering for us to finally reach a point of being able to listen to him. The tilling of our soil is never fun, and it often lasts a long time, but it is an essential part of God's work in us.
Once our hearts have been softened enough we are finally ready to hear God's word and accept it so that it can grow and take root in us. His word is often small and simple and to the point, but in it is the power and potential for great life to grow out of it.
Once the seed of God's word has been planted in our lives, it must be watered and cared for so that it can start to grow.
And then it does grow, and God's word is seen being lived out in our lives, where once there was only barren soil! Soon the growing plant will produce fruit that will then be able to give life to many others.
And so that is the process we all find ourselves in, but the choice is ours as to whether or not we will respond to his word. The more we respond the more will be able to plant it faithfully in the lives of others as their soil is constantly being churned.
So that's the picture. It was fun getting to teach it and having the summer staff get to tangibly interact with the concept. Hopefully at the end of the summer we'll get to enjoy the fruits of our garden!
2 comments:
Ok, my soiled has been prepared, He's gotten my attention....grow baby, grow.....I'm waiting for the sprouts to show.
We at MVC just heard a message told by your father (Mark) about growing. Many of us are still in that tilling part (myself included), but I enjoyed how you also said very similar things as well about growth. I enjoyed it- and you helped to plant a few seeds in my life. Thanks Josh
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