I like gardening. That makes Spring one of my favorite times. I get to try new ideas and plan out ways to grow luscious plants where before there was only barren land. Each situation is unique; every crop and environment different, so it is an adventure every time. One thing that stays the same is some basic expectations.

I don’t expect things to go as first planned. I expect to make adjustments as I constantly evaluate how things are growing. Do they need more water? Protection from the wind? Are they lacking some vital nutrients? Also, the deer are always a concern. Each of these questions are designed to address the very real threats to healthy growth. Even if I begin with good seeds, the soil needs to be made and kept healthy. Some insects need to be encouraged, such as bees to pollinate, while others need to be guarded against, such as beetles that will devour my young plants. None of this is new information to any of us. We understand how things grow.

Jesus knew we understood these things. He loved to use agricultural examples for spiritual truths. Sometimes it was analogies about seeds and soil, sometimes fruit trees. That tells me we should treat our own spiritual growth the same way we treat gardening. Instead of assuming things will progress well on their own (or worse- pretending things are healthy while we continue to grow rotten fruit), we ought to be openly attentive to healthy spiritual growth. None of us grow green thumbs simply because we were given a packet of great seeds. In the same way, none of us should expect to have a healthy spiritual life, complete with mature skills such as prayer, compassion, selflessness and purity just because God gave us the Greatest Seed of All.

Yes, that Seed makes all transformations and growth possible. It determines the final potential, but it is not guaranteed to grow without attention, reason, and a lot of work over time. This is why Jesus spent so much time comparing a healthy spiritual life to cultivating crops. A healthy spirit and God-like character is not guaranteed, even for Christians. It takes intentional effort.

The Apostle Paul explains it like this, “work out your own salvation with fear and trembling; for it is God who is at work in you, enabling you both to will and to work for his good pleasure” (Phil. 2:12b-13). In other words, God is at work attempting to transform us into His Image, so let us embrace the effort- cooperate with Him- and contribute to our own success.

So here is my advice: get engaged with a local community of faith. Work to develop spiritual disciplines like prayer, study of scripture, and service to others. Be sure to do those things within that local faith community. After all, I would be a fool to think I had all gardening knowledge on my own, or that I understood every gardening magazine or YouTube video without discussion with my fellow gardeners. Above all, give yourself and others permission to make mistakes as you practice these things. The Church is not so much a club for Spiritual “Master Gardeners”, as it is a classroom for students to improve together. Be honest. Be patient. Be forgiving. In the fullness of time, with God’s help, the Fall will come, and you will have produced a harvest of Godliness thirty, sixty, or a hundred times what was sown.

Pastor Evan Elwell

Pomeroy Church of the Nazarene