Garden of Grace

"Sow for yourselves righteousness,

reap the fruit of unfailing love,

and break up your unplowed ground;

for it is time to seek the LORD,

until he comes and showers righteousness on you."

Hosea 10:12

I live in a land of abundant choices, and nowhere is this more evident than in the aisles of an American grocery store.  Perusing the displays of toothpaste, for example, I try to find the one for which I'm looking.  My eyes rove across the labels, taking in the descriptions of the choices: tartar control, cavity protection, breath freshening, whitening or any combination thereof.  It takes me ten minutes to decide which one I want.  Then I enter the cereal aisle: Yikes!

There are choices to make in my spiritual life, as well.  There are decisions to make regarding what to say, with whom to associate, in what stand to take, of what entertainment to partake, or in what activities to participate.  Usually, I make these determinations based on cause and effect.  If I do "A" then "B" will happen.  

When following Jesus, however, this is not always the case.  There are many times I may be called to do things that don't make sense or which may have an outcome that seems counterproductive or even downright irresponsible.  Consider Abram, for example.  He was a man of God who was called to pack up everything he owned and take his family on a journey to his new home.  Oh, and by the way, God would let him know where that home was when he got there!  Who in their right mind would choose to sell their home, load up the U-Haul and start driving; destination unknown?  Meanwhile, the nieces and nephews, hired help, even your wife and nephew are asking, "Are we there yet?" and all you can say is, "I don't know."

Making choices that honor God does not rely on my common sense or on what is best for my welfare.  Instead, I am called to live my life for Him, even if I don't see the pay off immediately. . . or until I reach my eternal reward.  

Choose God

I love to plant seeds in my garden.  It is such a miracle to place a tiny seed in the ground, water it, and then a week or so later witness the emergence of a sprout from beneath the soil.  Soon it grows into a larger plant and begins producing fruit.  In all the years I have gardened, though, I have never reaped a carrot when I sowed a cucumber seed, or a watermelon if I sowed a kernel of corn.  I always reap what I sow.

In the same way, my spiritual harvest will depend upon what I plant.  If I'm never happy with what I have and always want more, my heart will be discontent.  If I only look at the negative side of things then my heart will be callous and pessimistic.  If I expect perfection from others then I will live my life in a perpetual state of disappointment and frustration.  

I can always look to Proverbs for some wisdom, and this time is no exception.  King Solomon wrote, "The wicked man earns deceptive wages, but he who sows righteousness reaps a sure reward."  (Proverbs 11:18)  If I want to experience a life of blessing, I will need to seek to please God in how I live my life.  This means I must choose to do things the way God has laid out in the Bible for me to live. 

But it is more than just following a list of do's and don'ts.  Living for Jesus is about my relationship with Him.  He is my Lord, and as such, I follow Him.  I can translate this to mean that He needs to be apart of every decision I make; large or small.  I don't just decide what to do and then ask His blessing.  Rather, I let Him decide for me and then do it His way.  As Oswald Chambers said, "Many of us do not go on spiritually because we prefer to choose what is right instead of relying on God to choose for us."

Jesus set an example in this.  When He lived on earth as a man, He was always focused on His Father's will.  He considered His own comfort, but His primary concern was in obeying His Father.  In the garden of Gethsemane, before He faced the agony of the cross, He prayed, "Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me; yet not my will, but yours be done." (Luke 22:42)  If I can set His life as my standard, considering His will to be the beacon that leads me, I cannot go wrong.

When it comes to pleasing God, letting Him choose for me means I will live a life of righteousness.  

Choose Love

When my family lived in North Carolina, my daughters were about 7 and 9 and there was a group of neighborhood bullies who constantly called them names, relentlessly chased them and were just plain mean.  Finally, the girls remembered the lesson they had learned from the Bible when Jesus said to love their enemies.  So, they gave those boys a big bag of candy.  The transformation was instantaneous and remarkable!  The once rude and nasty lads turned into polite and pleasant children.  There was never another problem with those former foes.

In a similar way, Jesus loved even when He was being mocked and mistreated.  As He hung dying on the cross, soldiers, bystanders, religious people and even the criminals who died beside Him, treated Him shamefully.  Instead of calling down fire from the heavens to devour them or commanding the legions of angels at His disposal to destroy the offenders, Jesus asked His Father to pardon them.  "Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing."  (Luke 23:34)

I am faced with all kinds of meanness, cruelty and downright evil as I live as a foreigner in this dark world.  But as a child of the Father of love, I can choose to love as He has loved me.  I can follow the example of Jesus when He demonstrated His Father's love for us.  "Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends."  (John 15:13)

When a friend is hurting and in need of a compassionate listener, I can choose to put aside my desire to fix the problem and just hurt along with her, offering an understanding ear.  If a young man sideswipes me causing thousands of dollars worth of damage to my car, I can choose to extend grace and tell him it will be okay.  For the times when the teenage girl turns up her nose and sneers at me, giving me the stink eye, I can choose to accept her where she is and love her anyway.

Choosing love is not easy.  However, remembering that God loves me despite my failures, weaknesses and flaws can help to remind me to allow His love to flow out to others. ". . . the eyes of the LORD are on those who fear him, on those whose hope is in his unfailing love."  (Psalm 33:18) When I trust that God's love will be there for me in future years, days and even moments, then I can trust His love to be there for others, as well.  His love will never let me down.  

When it comes to pleasing God, choosing to love when I feel like enacting revenge will result in a life of peace.

Choose to Receive

The ground in our South Carolina backyard consists mostly of clay.  Consequently, I had to use a pick-ax to break it up when first digging our garden and preparing the soil for planting.  After cracking the clay into chunks, I began the job of adding mulch and good soil, trying to improve the quality of soil so it was ready to receive the seeds for planting.  It took three years of repeating this process before the dirt became fertile enough to support good growth.  

My heart is like the hard clay ground.  If I don't let God work on it, breaking it down and putting in rich additives, I will not be able to receive the seeds of God's fruit.  Instead, I will remain cold, uncaring and indifferent.  In order to allow my heart to go through His tenderizing process, it is necessary for me to let go of my desires, my plans and my ways of thinking.  Then I can receive His desires, His plans and His way of thinking.  

As God works to humble me, I will be able to receive more of what God has to offer.  In the past, my proud heart would hold people at bay.  Now I am able to let others see my flaws and mistakes, knowing God will use it to bring people to Him.  

Yesterday I couldn't bear to think about my sin, but today I can hold it in the light and let it go at the foot of the cross, leaving me with a sense of peace and serenity.

In years gone by I was afraid to do things that made me feel uncomfortable, but recently I can step outside my comfort zone in obedience to God.   

When it comes to pleasing God, I can't go on with a hard heart.  I must choose to let God tenderize it so I can receive the seeds of His amazing fruit.

I have many choices in how I can live my life, and many times I pick what will bring me the most satisfaction or success.  But if I instead let God choose for me, deciding to let Him love those around me and allowing my heart to go through the tenderizing process, I will receive the many blessings found in His garden of Grace.

As I begin this day it is my prayer that I will dwell in God's garden of grace.  

How do I resist allowing God to break up the hard soil of my heart?

When am I reaping fruit of deception instead of love?