How do you garden?

My garden with many weeds!

Matthew 13:24-30 NIV

The Parable of the Weeds

²⁴ Jesus told them another parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his field. ²⁵ But while everyone was sleeping, his enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat, and went away. ²⁶ When the wheat sprouted and formed heads, then the weeds also appeared.

²⁷ “The owner’s servants came to him and said, ‘Sir, didn’t you sow good seed in your field? Where then did the weeds come from?’

²⁸ “‘An enemy did this,’ he replied.

“The servants asked him, ‘Do you want us to go and pull them up?’

²⁹ “‘No,’ he answered, ‘because while you are pulling the weeds, you may uproot the wheat with them. ³⁰ Let both grow together until the harvest. At that time I will tell the harvesters: First collect the weeds and tie them in bundles to be burned; then gather the wheat and bring it into my barn.’”

    I enjoy gardening. It's a gift from my mother, who has an incredible green thumb, and I got a drop of that. I have peppers, green beans, tomatoes, peppers, and yellow squash. I do not do so many flowers just mainly moss roses that live through drought and hot!  So as I read through Matthew this year in a BSF bible study I was touched by this parable. This truth brought out to me has been on repeat over and over this year. What is my role as a child of God? I do tend to "pick" my roles such as judge, juror, prosecutor, and jail warden. What I realized is those positions are not given to any child of God as specified in the Bible. If we are not called to judge others and their lives, choices, and journey in life but then.. What do I do? How do I bring others to meet God in their lives? Read Matthew 13:24-30 again and grapple with me in the following thoughts.       

    So as I read this I was first sent to "good seed". The kingdom of God is brought in by good seed. Good seed is the word of God, the true Word of God being taken to every nation every people spreading the pure Word Of God to all. This spread is done by the man, who I see as the farmer, God. God plants the good seeds, us.  All who are called and believe in Jesus are called to "Go Into all the world and preach the Gospel to all". Good seed. First, the important message, bring good seeds when you go plant. In my garden, every year I take out my last year's seeds and begin looking at them checking them to see how "good" my seed is. Sometimes I leave the seed packs outside in all the hot and cold weather which can ruin the seed making them unable to sprout. If I have some I placed them in a container in a good location they are more likely to be a good seed and will have the best likelihood of growing well. Just as I have to check my physical seeds for viability we as children of God need to check our connection to Jesus and his Word so the seeds we sow are purely HIS seeds, His words not some that have not been taken care of or of our own knowledge. God's word is true but our hearts are still human so checking in, and being renewed by God is the first step to ensuring that the seeds we sow are not from us but from God. 

    Second, After the seed is sown an "evil one" comes and sows when all are sleeping. Satan does have a slippery and slimy way of waiting till we are asleep, after sowing good seeds, to plant lies all around us and our good seeds. This happens in my garden almost instantly. I prep the soil, lay down more fertilizer, lay my rows straight, and plant my good seeds. I water them regularly so they can have the best chance to grow and be fruitful. BUT then after a few days, I see weeds starting around my neatly planted seeds.. WhAT??? I didn't plant weeds but the wind and soil already sometimes have some weed seeds. So yes, even as hard as I try the weeds grow and grow sometimes better than the good seeds themselves at the beginning. Satan will always without a doubt begin to plant weeds of lies, and questions of the validity of the Word of God trying to choke out the good seeds. The second truth, there will always be weeds among good seeds.

 Third, after the weeds started the servant, us, asked should I pull out the weeds now? The Gardner, God, said no not yet because you can pull out the wheat and kill it off while trying to weed the garden. Wait for the harvesters, whom God will tell them to pull the weeds and burn them, and the good crop taken to the barn. Just wait...

    Today I went out to water and weed the garden. It's been about 2 months since I planted so I have some good seeds starting to grow. I have weeded the garden a few different times but today I learned something. Even when you are trying to be careful weeding some of the main "good plants" can be pulled. I was close to my green beans and the weeds were covering the ground around them. The beans are almost budding so close to beginning growing the bean and as I carefully loosened the soil around and got down the root of the weed to pull..... The long gangly part of the weed grabbed the bean plant and out came the bean plant with the weed.  Well, thankfully I planted enough beans that are not a total loss but it made me stop and think... When do I pull weeds? I want a good crop but how to help the plant not kill it?

    So leads me to the spiritual connection. In this, we are called by God to plant the good seeds of his word. We know that Satan will come and plant weeds of lies. But then as we see the "good seeds" growing our human gardening comes in and we say "OH I will pull that weed out to let the plant grow" I will do the job. God is saying slow down now. What have I called you to do? Are you the planter, waterer, and harvester? We are the servant who is to do what the Farmer, God, has told us.  Satan, the evil one,  plants the bad weeds. And then I will TELL the HARVESTERS, angels (as it is explained in Matthew 13:36-43), to take out the weeds. What does this mean? I have begun to learn God is telling us I have you to plant good seeds and produce a healthy crop. Keep doing it over and over and over and over. Then allow me to help them to grow. As it said in 1 Corinthians 3:6 I planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but God has been making it grow. Paul was saying to the Corinthians I, Paul am a planter. God waters and makes it grow. WHAT??? Do you mean my job is SIMPLY to PLANT GOOD SEEDS? Sounds too easy I can do it all. NO NO NO! God calls us to plant good seeds. As my BSF study guide said it so well " Our calling is not to define and diagnose other people's soil but to seek to be the fruitful soil through which God can produce eternal fruit. " 

The primary calling of God's children is to plant seeds, not pull up weeds. 
BSF study guide 2021, lesson 31 study notes

    We each had a specific part in building his kingdom and it is to plant good seeds of the Word of God and speak into others this truth from God. In order to do this, we need to be connected to God and His Word, the Bible, so we can spread this good seed.  When I have been tempted to pull out other weeds in others' lives I am reminded that I am only to plant good seeds and allow God to help them to grow. I can't make anyone grow in God. I can only keep my soil fertile so God can use me to spread His Word to a lost and dying world. God has always been God and reigns over all things so if I can do the "simple" spreading God's Word to others more than taking a judgment stance, how much more can we move out of the way and allow God to work through the seeds we have sown?