I have planted a garden many times through the years.\u00a0 I have learned so many things, and not just about plants and soil.\u00a0 To begin a garden, one must prepare the soil.\u00a0 Once the seeds are planted, you must wait.\u00a0 And wait.\u00a0 Sometimes the weather does not cooperate.\u00a0 It stays too cool too long, or there is no rain.\u00a0 But in the right timing, God sends the heat and rain.\u00a0 It is always a joy to look and see the seeds popping up out of the dirt.\u00a0 But it isn\u2019t usually only the seeds you planted that begin to show themselves.\u00a0 Often times the weeds make their appearance about the same time or shortly thereafter.\u00a0 Then you must begin to really work.\u00a0 This is where you must be careful.\u00a0 Some weeds look an awful lot like the plants you planted.\u00a0 You must be able to recognize your plants.\u00a0 You definitely do not want to uproot one of your precious plants.\u00a0 But on the other hand, you do not want to leave a weed that will steal nutrients and water from your plant!\u00a0 Once the plants begin to grow, you must continually work to keep the area free of weeds.\u00a0 Often times my children would help in the garden.\u00a0 Yes, they complained often! But at the same time, they were learning the difference between a true plant and a weed.\u00a0 I remember my parents teaching me the same thing!<\/p>\n
Why say all of that?\u00a0 Working in the garden is a time to think.\u00a0 Once we have Jesus in our hearts and lives, the work begins.\u00a0 That seed has been planted and needs to grow.\u00a0 Sometimes the process seems slow, but through the reading of the Bible and studying it, growth comes.\u00a0 So often things of the world come in and take root, stealing precious nutrients and water that we, as Christians, need to grow.\u00a0 But each and every day we are to read God\u2019s Word to show us what a characteristic of a Christian is truly, and what is really just an attribute of the world.\u00a0 Sometimes they look quite similar \u2013 much like the weeds that look an awful lot like the plant you planted in your garden.\u00a0 You need the discernment found only in God\u2019s Word to reveal to you which is which.\u00a0 Once we know what God wants in our lives, we must eliminate the weeds (the things of the world that will steal precious nutrients from us).\u00a0 Once you get the hang of that, it is really pretty simple.\u00a0 But it must be a continual process \u2013 each and every day to keep those weeds away.\u00a0 My parents not only taught me the difference between a plant and a weed, they helped me understand the things from the Bible that God was pleased with compared to the things of the world.\u00a0 I have taught my children the same principles, from God\u2019s Word.\u00a0 What better time to share with them than in a quiet time of weeding in a garden?!<\/p>\n
Read the following important words of warning:\u00a0 \u201c15. Love not the world, neither the things that are<\/em> in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him. 16. For all that is<\/em> in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world. 17. And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever.\u201d 1 John 2:15-17.<\/p>\n
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