Note: I published this parable last week over at Rich’s Ride. I’m re-posting here, with some edits, because I’d love to know your thoughts.
What if the Kingdom is as simple as seeds planted by a Master Gardener?
The seeds sprout and become the plants they were destined to become. They produce their particular fruit.
It’s not complicated. God knows He planted seeds of love, so He knows the kinds of plants and fruit His garden will yield.
He invites us to help tend the garden. We get to pull some weeds, add a little fertilizer, enjoy and share some of the produce. If we accept His invitation, we experience the joy of being part of the process. We also get blisters and stickers, because they’re part of tending the garden.
Mostly, we get to hang out and learn God’s way of gardening.
It’s God’s garden. It’s long-term. It’s simple.
I make it complicated.
A certain weed becomes my personal quest. That weed will destroy the garden unless I vanquish it. I’ll dump poison in the garden. I’ll shove other garden-tenders aside. This weed’s got to be killed, no matter the cost, even if I violate the principles of the garden. I’m on a mission from God!
A particular plant doesn’t grow as I think it should. It needs more fertilizer, more water, or it’ll die! Without my wisdom, we won’t get the right fruit.
Another garden-tender’s doing it wrong. If I don’t change things, he’ll wreck the garden and offend the Gardener. It’s obviously my job to judge and criticize. If things don’t improve, he’s simply gotta go. This garden is too important to allow one bad worker to destroy what the rest of us created.
The Gardener chuckles. He didn’t invite me because He needed my help or advice. He wanted us to spend time together. He hoped I’d watch and learn about His way of gardening. He even brought His own Son along as an example of how to hang out and grow the garden His way.
But it’s God’s garden, and it’ll grow as He intended.
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