I want flowers. I want a lush garden of purple, blue, yellow, and bright pink hues. I want to see fruits and vegetables growing in nice, clean rows that are coming from rich, green stocks all ready to eat. I want a manicured lawn with pristine landscaping and bright blossoms dancing all around. I want perfection. I want beauty.
I drive by houses that have dream gardens, and a little tinge of jealousy begins to rise. I gawk at the splendor nestled in their corner of the world and I want it. The dilemma I face, however, is that I want what they have with little to no effort on my part. I want to walk outside one day, and simply see it all there: the flowers, the okra, the squash, and the melons. I don’t want to crawl out there on my hands and knees to pull out the grass and weeds that have grown where they don’t belong. I don’t want to remove rocks or arrange stones. I don’t want to rake out the leaves and twigs or till any soil. I want the beauty to just happen. But that’s not how gardening works. It takes time and cultivation. It takes continual effort and hard work. It takes toil and sweat. Beauty is not an easy thing to create.
The fruit of the Spirit is something that, like a beautiful garden, we must cultivate in our lives. It doesn’t just grow. It doesn’t just happen. It takes time, energy, and intentionality. I can’t be patient without working on patience. I want to fill my home with love, joy, peace, patience, gentleness, goodness, faithfulness, and self-control, but that can’t happen on its own. I’ve got to make sure love is in me, that joy is there, that I’m peaceful, and that I’m being kind, good, faithful, and gentle. I’ve got to control myself!
The fruit of the Spirit is something that, like a beautiful garden, we must cultivate in our lives.
Breana Henry
God possesses these qualities. He is the Vine, and we are the branches. We are to take on His character and His nature. Galatians 6:7 tells us that whatever a man sows, he will also reap. If we sow gossip and spread rumors, plant hate and malice, or worry and fear, our garden is not going to be a splendid thing. Cultivating beauty takes work, but weeds are a different story. Just about anything I’ve ever tried to grow disintegrates within a few short months or sometimes even weeks—but I can grow weeds. They will grow with no effort, no work, no skill, or knowledge necessary if given the opportunity. Just like weeds, the works of the flesh will grow eagerly if not cleared regularly from our gardens. Gordon MacDonald, in his book Ordering Your Private World said, “The gardens of our private worlds cannot remain uncultivated for long before they become infested with the sort of growth that makes them uninviting both to the indwelling Lord and to us.”
“The gardens of our private worlds cannot remain uncultivated for long before they become infested with the sort of growth that makes them uninviting both to the indwelling Lord and to us.”
Gordan MacDonald
Growing the fruit of the Spirit in our lives takes time, effort, and a great deal of prayer. The fruit doesn’t grow overnight, but it’s worth it. We must work daily to pull the weeds, guard against bitter roots, remove the stones, eradicate devouring bugs, and water with the word of God. If we put in the work, there will be growth and something majestic to behold. It’s worth the effort. A life full of love, joy, peace, patience, gentleness, goodness, faithfulness, and self-control brings such beauty! Much like a stunning garden, others can pass by, see our lives, and desire what we have, perhaps inspiring them to start a garden of their own.
Much like a stunning garden, others can pass by, see our lives, and desire what we have, perhaps inspiring them to start a garden of their own.
Breana Henry
“I pray that your love will overflow more and more, and that you will keep on growing in knowledge and understanding. For I want you to understand what really matters, so that you may live pure and blameless lives until the day of Christ’s return. May you always be filled with the fruit of your salvation-the righteous character produced in your life by Jesus Christ- for this will bring much glory and praise to God” Philippians 1:9-11 (NLT).
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