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Friends:
I had some thoughts this morning. This is a short message
for your reflection.
"...How
Does Your Garden Grow?"
I am surrounded by examples of sanctification in my garden.
Particularly, as each day I must attend to the needs of
my plants, lest they die. Our sanctification is very similar
to this care that I show to my plants. Think about it,
I must be dedicated, determined, and deliberate
in the way I care for them. I cannot rush their growth,
but must wait; I cannot leave them to themselves, but
must care for them.
The
nurture and growth of plants takes dedication, determination
and deliberation. It is no wonder that the symbol in the
Ancient Near East (and biblical symbol as well) for wisdom
is the tree. How do we grow in Christ? We must be dedicated
to growth, first of all. We must be dedicated to eating
and drinking deep of God's Word so that we might be nourished,
and thus grow. As we are determined to follow Christ and
lay aside the sin that so easily besets us, so we learn
in God's World to be discerning, and this is like a fertilization
process. The more wisdom we gain from God's World, as
well as the experiences in this life, we become aware
of certain things and apply God's Word to it, so we become
discerning. We grow fruitful. We must also be deliberate
about what we are doing, as we are growing, to use my
plant metaphor.
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We
cannot just "live and let God" or "let go and let
God" as if somehow magically and supernaturally
we will grow in Christ-likeness.
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We
cannot just "live and let God" or "let go and let God"
as if somehow magically and supernaturally we will grow
in Christ-likeness. This may be the great error of some
Reformed folk's teaching. We must be deliberate. We must
strive for deliberate obedience. What does this mean?
Well, it's like what James said in his letter to the churches.
We do not want to merely be "hearers of God's Word" (you
know, "yea, yea, I have heard that before, I know my theology,
and I am the last person that needs to hear this message").
Rather, we are to be doers.
How
are we to be doers?
By deliberate obedience. We must set out, by God's
grace and his mighty Spirit of the resurrection (cf. Eph.
1:18ff), to obey Christ. Christ says in John 15, using
the plant metaphor, that He is the Vine and we are the
branches. The Father is the vinedresser, the One who prunes
the branches. First of all, he has engrafted us into this
vine. Christ is the Vine and from Christ we draw all of
our sustenance and spiritual life. As branches our vital
purpose is to bear fruit..."a fruit that will last." Of
course, you know the tree by the fruit it bears, therefore
we should strive to have good fruit (you may have heard
the saying: "If you don't see fruit, ya betta check the
root!"). But good fruit is not obtained without dedication
to God's Word, determination to live in God's World as
a discerning person, and deliberation to be obedient.
As we are growing in God's grace and wisdom because we
have been united to Christ by faith, let us be dedicated
to bearing fruit...a fruit that will last long after we
are gone from this life; let us be determined to live
our life as reflections of God's cultivated grace; let
us be deliberate in our obedience. And in case you have
never noticed, the tree grows from seed to tree for many
years before bearing fruit.
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We
must live a life of constant dependence as well
as repentance as we seek His means of grace: Word,
Sacrament, and Prayer.
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The
plants in my garden need me daily to survive. I am responsible
to them and it is from me that they depend upon their
very lives. I must seek to continue to water them, fertilize
them, make sure they are getting enough light, keep enemies
such as bugs off of them, and many other duties. This
is a reflection of how the Father takes care of us! How
he nurtures and prospers us by his grace! He fills us
with the Spirit, gives us his word as a light to grow,
and keeps us from our enemies. However, for the consumer
in the modern world that desires immediate gratification,
I have bad news! Trees do not grow over night, nor do
they bear fruit immediately (for those who want "immediate
trees" perhaps they should go with the "silk-plant option").
Neither is wisdom and good works immediate in our lives.
We must live a life of constant dependence as well as
repentance as we seek His means of grace: Word, Sacrament,
and Prayer.
These
are the true hopes of the Living!
In Christ, by His Grace,
Charles R. Biggs
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