Kathy Friesen
(Cherished Women’s Garden Social)
I’m sure you’ve heard this lovely little verse:
The kiss of the sun for pardon,
The song of the birds for mirth,
One is nearer God’s Heart in a garden
Than anywhere else on earth.
But have you heard the entire poem by Dorothy Frances Gurney? It’s called God's Garden, and it seems fitting for our time here this evening.
THE Lord God planted a garden In the first white days of the world,
And He set there an angel warden In a garment of light enfurled.
So near to the peace of Heaven, That the hawk might nest with the wren,
For there in the cool of the even God walked with the first of men.
And I dream that these garden-closes With their shade and their sun-flecked sod
And their lilies and bowers of roses, Were laid by the hand of God.
The kiss of the sun for pardon, The song of the birds for mirth,--
One is nearer God's heart in a garden Than anywhere else on earth.
For He broke it for us in a garden Under the olive-trees
Where the angel of strength was the warden And the soul of the world found ease.
No wonder we love to garden!
When Nicole asked me to give a devotional this evening, I was excited. After all, we’re combining three of my favorite things: fellowship, gardening, and Bible verses about gardening.
The first Bible verse that came to mind is John 12, verse 24. Jesus is on His way to the cross, and as He talks with His disciples He cuts to the quick with these words:
“Truly, truly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit.”
The obvious conclusion here is that Jesus is talking about His own death, when He ransomed us from the penalty of sin, eternity without God.
But then He continues: “Whoever loves his life loses it, and whoever hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life. If anyone serves me, he must follow me; and where I am there will my servant be also. If anyone serves me, the Father will honor him.”
Hmm, sounds like He’s talking about us, doesn’t it? But if we die like a grain of wheat, how do we then serve Him?
When a seed is planted, it has to die completely in order to grow into the promised plant. Have you ever had a seed that didn’t want to let go of its seedling? I have. Sometimes with tomato seedlings, the shell of the seed will cling to the emerging leaves, the cotyledons (kaa tuh lee’ dn). Sometimes the shell will let go on its own or with a little help – apparently saliva works best! - sometimes it won’t. If the seed continues to cling to the tiny plant, the seedling, imprisoned and unable to grow, will die. No produce, no harvest.
Perhaps this is a picture of how people may want to follow Jesus Christ but also want to cling to their old way of life. It doesn’t work. Without complete surrender, the spark of faith-life will shrivel and die. With surrender we get glowing, abundant, fruit-producing life!
The second passage is also from the book of John, in chapter 15. Jesus says, “I am the true vine, and my Father is the vinedresser. Every branch in me that does not bear fruit he takes away, and every branch that does bear fruit he prunes, that it may bear more fruit.”
Is anyone else bothered by that phrase, “he takes away”?
This verse has always given me an uneasy feeling, like, Am I bearing fruit? If not, is God going to take me out?
Time for some research! Thanks to good ol’ Strong’s Concordance and a Bible commentary by Pastor Tony Evans, I found a more encouraging way to look at this phrase.
The word translated, “takes away, cuts away or removes,” has more than one meaning. The Greek word airo (ah’ ee ro) is a primary verb meaning to lift. It’s used in several places in the New Testament to portray raising a voice, bearing up, carrying, lifting up, loosing, putting away, removing, or taking away or up.
Intriguing, isn’t it? I checked the other places where this word is used. One is Matthew 4:6, where Satan tempts Jesus and quotes the Old Testament: “On their hands they (angels) will bear you up, lest you strike your foot against a stone.
Then there’s Matthew 27:32 and Mark 15:21 where Simon of Cyrene is compelled to carry the cross for Jesus.
In Luke 17:13, ten lepers lifted up their voices and begged Jesus to heal them.
There are others, but I don’t want to take too much time. In each of these verses, airo is used. Bear up. Carry. Lift. Sounds more like affirmation than destruction, doesn’t it?
In his Bible commentary, Tony Evans begins unpacking this verse by confirming that “every branch” refers to Christians, because they are IN the vine, Jesus.
The Son – the vine – feeds the branches, and the Father – the gardener – tends them, bringing them from no fruit production to abundant fruit.
He explains it well; a quote is better than any explanation I can give.
“The branches in a vineyard could become large and drag on the ground. So God the gardener “takes them away” (airo) from the ground by lifting them up. God will, therefore seek to make you fruitful by lifting you up, encouraging you, and motivating you – for example, through his Word and through the people of God. Those who are fruitful, God also prunes so that they bear more fruit. Sometimes God will bring challenges and trials into our lives to enable us to grow in our faith and cast off anything hindering full productivity.”
Regarding the Father’s pruning, I’d like to tell you a little story.
Back when my mother was fighting cancer, I visited her as often as possible, and one of the things I enjoyed doing there was caring for her yard. During one visit, Dad called me outside to her favorite tree, a pink flowering cherry.
“Look at this.” He pulled down a slender branch full of white flowers, not pink. “Whaddya think of that?”
Pruning is not my favorite part of gardening. What if I cut too much? Or not enough? I couldn’t bear to “hurt” my plants or trees.
But in this case… I remembered reading about the problem – and it was a problem. “Not good, Dad. You need to cut out that whole area. It’s called ‘reverting to type,’ and if you leave it, eventually the whole tree will lose its pink colour and revert to white.”
I don’t understand the science behind it, but it does fit with these verses. The beautiful pink flowers on Mom’s tree were a result of grafting onto sturdy rootstalk, in this case, a white flowering tree.
Sometimes, though, the old nature sneaks up past the graft and reasserts itself.
Do you see where I’m going with this? When we put our faith in Jesus Christ, we are grafted into His family tree, a new, beautiful creation, designed to produce fruit. But sometimes our old nature creeps back, twisting our outlook and damaging our faith-walk. These tendencies must be pruned out completely for our sakes and the sake of the Kingdom of God.
We, the branches, remain attached to the life-giving Vine, while the resurging old nature is cut out and destroyed by our loving Father, freeing us from its clutches.
Remember, no branch can produce fruit by its own will. It must be attached to the vine or trunk – that’s where fruit comes from.
So, we the branches abide in Jesus Christ the vine and are pruned by Father God the Divine Gardener to produce the fruit of good works for His glory.
Pretty amazing, isn’t it? We are God’s garden!
The kiss of the sun for pardon,
The song of the birds for mirth,
One is nearer God’s Heart in a garden
Than anywhere else on earth.