Starter plants

As I turn from my spring garden, the sugar snaps, to my summer garden, the tomatoes, cucumbers and peppers, I am amazed at how different the gardens are.

My sugar snap garden is all scattered and messy. Despite my efforts to sow the seeds in rows, the plants are helter-skelter around the garden; some growing in clusters; some outliers. There are weeds growing in and among the plants. Some plants are tall; others still hover near the ground. It’s messy. It’s growing, but it’s messy.

My faith looks like this sometimes, scattered and messy, growing helter-skelter, distracted by unwanted thought-weeds.

My summer garden, by comparison, is neat and orderly. I have placed the starter plants in a row, and I see no weeds. It’s pretty. Someone else has grown the plants from seed, so all I need to do is transplant them into my garden. Someone else has brought these plants to this level of maturity and provided them to me free of weeds, neat and orderly.

I am very grateful to those who grew these plants from seed. I appreciate their determination, effort and ability and am happy to compensate them for it. Starter plants make my garden easier.

I am very grateful as well to those Christians who have shared their growth with us, so all I need to do is transplant it into my life. I appreciate their determination, effort and ability and am happy to compensate them for it. Their theology makes my faith journey easier, less messy.

From the bed where it was planted it was transplanted to good soil by abundant waters, so that it might produce branches and bear fruit and become a noble vine. Ezekiel 17:8

I do not have to grow every plant from seed; I do not have to develop every element of my faith on my own. Others have better minds, more insight, more determination to tackle complex issues; I can trust them to develop a theology that is less helter-skelter and less distracted by unwanted thought-weeds.

C. S. Lewis, Charles Stanley, John Stott, N.T. Wright, Lee Strobel, Richard Wurmbrand, Henri Nouwen – what wonderful starter plants they have given me for my Victory Garden! My ministers and teachers use theology taught by St. Augustine, Thomas Merton, Karl Barth, Dietrich Bonhoeffer, CK Chesterton, John Calvin and so many others. What gifts!

So what are you wanting to grow in your garden? Faith under persecution? Richard Wurmbrand. Stillness and calm? Thomas Merton or Henri Nouwen. Discipline? A daily Bible. Rational defense of faith (Apologetics)? Lee Strobel. There are books on prayer, spiritual growth, practical theology, church creeds, biblical interpretation, warfare, grace and love. There are more resources available to you for your Christian growth than there are starter plants at Home Depot.

But as for you, continue in what you have learned and firmly believed, knowing from whom you learned it, and how from childhood you have known the scared writings that are able to instruct you for salvation through faith in Jesus Christ. 2 Timothy 3:15

All these resources can be a little overwhelming. But no one expects you to buy and plant everything at Home Depot, and no one expects you to read everything available on Amazon. Hopefully, you don’t expect that of yourself either.

Just know that you don’t have to go it alone. When you are struggling with an issue, use the resources available. Find out what the brilliant thinkers over the past 2000 years have had to say on the subject. Most likely, this thought you are struggling with is not new. Take advantage of the already developed thoughts that are out there. It will save you a lot of time and messiness.

Thank you for joining me on this journey. I appreciate your sharing your time with me. I hope you’ll join me next week when the subject is roots!

Betsy

 I am the Alpha and the Omega. Revelation 1:8