Why I think God’s a Gardener

Photo Credit: LoggaWiggler from here with CC.

It seems to me, God’s a bit of a gardener.

Left to myself, I don’t want God.  He’s going to make me look at all the things about myself I hate.  Then he’s going to have me give up a bunch of stuff I love.

That’s a bit like gardening.  In principle, I mean.

The weeds are going to come back.  Just like taxes.  Don’t fool yourself.  So, why bother at all?  Plus, the actual process of gardening is just the same little motion repeated one thousand-million times.  Pull that little weed.  Pull another little weed.  Then pull another little weed just the bajillion before it.  On and on, from here to eternity it goes.  After all this work, I look up, and I’ve progressed a depressing eleven inches.  And that’s only taken me an hour.

But you know what.  Something about the whole thing works.  When I’m gardening, I have these thoughts that I was too busy to have otherwise, because when I’m gardening my mind settles.  So I’ll periodically jump up, rush inside, make a quick little note which unfortunately later looks like soiled hieroglyphics, and then hurry back out to do more thinking.

As I reflect on the times that God has pruned me, I think it’s much the same.  I never volunteer for it.  Forget that.  And during the process, it’s hard as hell (I’m using that word theologically, mind you).

But after it all, just like my beautiful, fresh garden, I myself am cleaned.

I’m healthier.  And I just feel better.

This is why Jesus said, for those I love, I also correct and discipline (Rev 3:19).

Have you had cases like this?  Leave me a comment–I’d love to hear about it.