Inadequate language

Have you ever tried to describe the grandeur of a harvest moon or the beauty of a sunrise? The smell of cinnamon or the various hues of blue? Can you find the words to describe love? Language is a woefully inadequate tool for expressing even those things bound by our five senses and three dimensions. Add to that our emotions and intuitions and our internal sense of something, and language quickly fails us.

How much more difficult it must have been for Jesus to describe those things beyond our experience – Heaven, the Kingdom of God, Eternity. Only He had direct experience of those realms, but what words could He possibly have used to describe them?

Fortunately, God, in His wisdom, gave us tastes, examples, in His created world that hinted at this other world; perishable things that reflected the imperishable. We find many of these hints in our gardens; and the prophets and Jesus called them to our attention.

A man planted a vineyard… Mark 12:1

The kingdom of heaven is like a landowner who went out early to hire laborers for his vineyard. Matthew 20:1

The garden even provides hints at some difficult concepts.

The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed… It is the smallest of all seeds, but when it has grown, it is the greatest of shrubs. Matthew 13:31-32

Very truly I tell you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains a single grain, but if it dies, it bears much fruit. John12:24

Even with these concrete examples, I can barely visualize this heaven, this kingdom.

The prophets and seers of visions throughout time faced this problem – how to describe a world beyond our five senses, beyond our three dimensions?

Isaiah envisions this Kingdom of God and expresses it like this:

On the day: A pleasant vineyard, sing about it! I, the Lord, am its keeper, every moment I water it. I guard it night and day so that no one can harm it. Isaiah 27:2-3

John envisions heaven and expresses it like this:

On either side of the river of Life is the tree of Life with its twelve kinds of fruit, producing its fruit each month, and the leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations. John 22:2

Inadequate language. Vineyards and trees and seeds just a hint, just a glimpse of things beyond our comprehension.

Perhaps all of nature, and not just the garden, is a parable of sorts – a parable that can reveal the nature of God to us if we only open our eyes and ears and hearts. If only we allow the Holy Spirit, God within us, to open them for us.

Then the disciples came and asked Him, “Why do you speak to them in parables?” Jesus answered, “To you it has been given to know the secrets of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been given… blessed are your eyes for they see, and your ears, for they hear. Matthew 13:10,16

How can I describe a sunrise? What words can I use to tell of my heart expanding in love? Language is inadequate to describe what I know in the wordless center of my soul. But I know them to be what they are; I know they are real. The Holy Spirit knows the kingdom of God, knows heaven, knows eternity. If the Holy Spirit abides in you, then somewhere in the wordless center of your soul, you are being shown what these things are; you are being shown that they are real.

I have many things to say to you, but you cannot hear them now. When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth; for he will not speak on his own, but will speak whatever he hears, and he will declare to you the things that are to come. John 16:12-13

Thank you for reading along as I continue my struggles with language. Your support means more than I could ever express.

Betsy

You and I

I have kept a journal of morning prayers for years. Pages and pages of scrawled out personal prayers to the Almighty about whatever was on my mind. They are not for public consumption and would probably be undecipherable to most people.

From the beginning, I addressed God with a capital letter, “You.” Lord, You know what is on my mind. Thank You for listening. It seemed appropriate, even in my personal journal, to capitalize “You.” His Royal Majesty. God.

Thus says the Lord, your Redeemer, who formed you in the womb: I am the Lord, who made all things, who alone stretched out the heavens, who by myself spread out the earth. Isaiah 44:24

Somewhere along the way, I stopped capitalizing “i.” Maybe it was after seeing one of those window stickers “HE>i” (He is greater than i.) It seemed prideful somehow to give myself the same honor as i was giving God. Quickly, i became accustomed to the lower case i. The practice was easy in my journal. My computer is a different story. My writing software does not accept my sudden humility!

The English language capitalizes “i” whenever used as a pronoun. English is the only language that capitalizes “i” in the middle of a sentence. This would not seem so egotistical if we capitalized other pronouns, like “they” or “he” or “she.” But we don’t. Only I get that honor. Even “we” doesn’t get that honor, as if adding another person lessens my value somehow. It feels very vain to me.

Many languages do have a formal “You” that is used to show respect or recognize the authority of the person being addressed. English does not even have that. The English language does not deem you as important as I.

Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility regard others as better than yourselves. Philippians 2:3

So, not only is He greater than i, but you are at least as important, if not more so, than i.

I had wanted to write my blogs using the lower case i. I tried it out on a few people, but they found it distracting. And my writing software is constantly trying to correct me. So, i gave that up. Except for this post. Because i want you to know that i do not consider myself more important than you. And i do not consider either of us as important as God. He is the one who deserves the honor. He is the only one who deserves the capital letters.

If you journal, i would like to challenge you to try this for a while. The practice is a subtle but constant reminder that He is God and i am not.

Beyond that, what does it say about the English language that we capitalize “i” and not “you”? What does it say about us as a people? Has it formed our thinking?

What does it say about me that i am bothered that my writing software is “failing” this document because i am refusing to correct my capitalization errors? I don’t like all the error messages. So you know what? I turned it off. What is acceptable practice will not dictate my every action. You, or the computer, are welcome to consider me weak in grammar skills, but i have a point to make.

Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your minds, so that you may discern what is the will of God – what is good and acceptable and perfect. Romans 12:2

Don’t worry, i will return to proper English grammar, as vain as i find it, in the next post. The purpose of the posts, after all, is not to change our language, but to encourage you to speak with God, whatever language you use.

Likewise, the Spirit helps us in our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we ought, but that very Spirit intercedes with sighs too deep for words. Romans 6:26

Thanks you for sharing your time with me. If you enjoyed this post, i hope you share it with others.

Betsy

The Word of the Lord

Photo by Aaron Burden on Unsplash

Has the Holy Spirit ever whispered in your ear? He has whispered in mine, reminding me of things, urging me to action, pulling me back. Sometimes when I am in the middle of an internal storm, tossed and tumbled and afraid, He has spoken a word that calmed the seas. If I weren’t a witness, I would find it hard to believe. But I have first-hand knowledge.

What I find amazing is that the Holy Spirit often uses words that were spoken long ago to other people in other circumstances. He takes these words and breathes new life and meaning into them. The Word of the Lord spoken to a paralytic, to Moses, to John or to Amos becomes the Word of the Lord spoken to Betsy, taking on a personal relevance often unconnected with its original intent.

Indeed, the word of God is living and active. Hebrews 4:12

When I was in my thirties, grief and shame overwhelmed me. How could I go to church, knowing the things I had done? Knowing how I had lived my life in my early twenties, wasn’t it hypocritical to go to a Bible study? Who was I kidding! God wouldn’t welcome someone like me. Certainly the other women in the group wouldn’t; perhaps they shouldn’t.

But then God spoke to me. “Arise, pick up your pallet and walk.” Jesus’ words to the paralytic in Mark 2. The Holy Spirit’s words to me. No longer paralyzed by my sin, I could and should and would move forward from that place; I would no longer make that spot of shame my resting spot; I would make my bed elsewhere. I could and did walk.

Over the years, the Holy Spirit has made many more verses come alive for me. A random word takes root and moves me. Last year during the Big Read (Read the Bible in 90 days), one verse jumped off the page as if God were speaking it just to me: .

You have circled around this mountain long enough, now turn. Deuteronomy 2:3

I find it interesting how much motion God’s call to us implies. This may be physical motion, but I think it is more likely that the physical motion represents spiritual and emotional movement. “Follow me,” “Go,” “I send you,” “I am the Way,” “Arise and walk.” Jesus even stops Peter from building a dwelling, a permanent stay-here structure, to honor Him (Matthew 17:2).

Emotionally, moving on, moving at all, can be difficult. We all have those moments which seem to define our lives, that we can’t get past, where we seem to reside. But God is about motion. “Go, leave this place” (Exodus 33:1), “Go into all the world” (Matthew 18:29), “Go and sin no more” (John 8:11). Jesus, God incarnate, was constantly on the move, with no home to call His own, no place to rest His head (Luke 9:58).

God does call me to stop moving sometimes, when my motion is futile or frantic. Several years back, overwhelmed by fear and grief after my husband’s cancer diagnosis and exhausted by the practical demands of surgeries and chemo and illness, I was near collapse. Then the Holy Spirit repeated to me what He once said to a long forgotten king:

This battle is not for you to fight; take your position, stand still, and see the victory of the Lord on your behalf. Do not fear or be dismayed. Tomorrow go out against them, and the Lord will be with you.  2 Chronicles 20:17

So when you are reading scripture and sense what those on the road to Emmaus sensed, that (their) hearts were burning inside (them) … while He was opening the scriptures to (them) (Luke 24:32), know that the Holy Spirit is whispering in your ear. He is the Spirit of God. Jesus is the Word, the living Word. His Word still speaks into our lives – transforming us, healing us, urging us forward, pulling us back, calming the storm.

If I weren’t a witness, I would find it hard to believe. But I have first-hand knowledge.

Betsy

Approaching God

Photo by Karl Hedin on Unsplash

Watching all the news coverage of the death of Queen Elizabeth had me thinking about the protocols surrounding royalty. You can’t just walk into the palace and ask the queen or king a question. Royalty demands a certain level of distance, respect, fear, separation from the average person. To speak to the king, you need to be pre-approved to see him and follow set rules about approaching him.

Although not as extreme, it reminds me of Esther’s fear of approaching the king, even though he was her husband.

If any man or woman goes to the to the king inside the inner court without being called, there is one law – all alike are to be put to death. Esther 4:11

It would make sense that the Israelites would have the same fear of approaching God. God even tells Moses:

Go down and warn the people not to break through to the Lord to look; otherwise, many of them will perish. Exodus 192:1

Job, in his distress, calls out:

If only there were a mediator between us (God and me), someone who could bring us together. Then I could speak to Him without fear, but I cannot do that in my own strength. Job 9:33,35 (NLT)

Do I realize what an extreme privilege it is to approach God in prayer at any time or place? What an amazing gift! We not only get to enter His throne room, we are called to bring all our concerns to Him (Phil. 4:6) and pray without ceasing (I Thess. 5:16). God invites us to be like children who run into His office and interrupt whatever He is doing. He joyfully takes us in His arms and welcomes us. Absolutely amazing!

When I was in my 20s, it was a fad for a while to sit in on Saturday night court, just to watch. Sometimes I like to imagine that I am sitting in God’s court, just observing. It’s hard not to think that I have snuck in somehow; that I really shouldn’t be listening in. Am I really allowed to be in “the room where it happened?” (That’s from the musical Hamilton…) Like the thousands lining the streets of London, it seems enough to stand in the back and watch royalty from afar; it seems like a privilege just to be in the distant crowd.

But God has actually invited us into the room!

And not just to observe – God invites us to ask.

Ask, and it will be given you. If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask Him. Matthew 7:7,11

I sense that when we are in prayer, honest, private, personal prayer, we are in the room with God. Jesus has given us the Holy Spirit who empowers us to become children of God (John 1:12), allowing us into God’s throne room, God’s court, God’s office. Jesus wants us to abide with Him; God wants us to spend time with Him. Little ole insignificant me; little ole insignificant you, we are invited, encouraged even, to spend time with the creator and Lord of the universe.

He is infinitely more powerful and important and regal than any earthly king or queen. God’s judgements are infinitely more important than any earthly judge’s. Jesus has torn down the curtain of separation (Matt. 27:51) and invited us in.

In fact, as unfathomable as it may be, the King is outside our home, knocking on our door, asking to come in.

Listen! I am standing at the door knocking. If you hear my voice and open the door, I will come in to you and eat with you, and you with me. Revelation 3:20

You better believe I am asking Him in!  Are you?

Betsy

Victory

Photo by Birmingham Museums Trust on Unsplash

Victory. It’s a deceptive word.

On the one hand, victory is success; triumph over difficulties.

No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. Romans 8:37

On the other hand, victory implies that there is war, struggle, hardship. Just look at the verse preceding verse 37:

Who will separate us from the love of Christ? Will hardship, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? As it is written, “for your sake we are being killed all day long; we are accounted as sheep to be slaughtered.” Romans 8:36

Cheery! While there are Christians who face these types of hardships in the world today, my guess is that few (if any) of you reading this have ever faced these levels of distress. As a Christian living in the Bible belt of the United States, the few difficulties I have are not a result of my faith.

I must admit that I named this blog ” The Victory Garden,” because I love the confidence, the faith, the hope, that in the end God wins. God has promised us victory over evil (1 John 4; 4), over Satan (Heb 2:14), over temptation (1 John 3:8), over our own sinful nature (Col. 2:14), over our past (2 Cor. 5:17).

But victory implies battle. and God has promised us that as well. We will face hatred (Matt 10:22), persecution (John 15:20), the forces of darkness (Eph. 6:12), trials (1 Peter 4:12), and refinement by fire (1 Peter 1:7).

Perhaps this is how God’s people felt when they thought about the Promised Land. There were already people living there. This ragtag bunch of nomads would have to fight against established strongholds and peoples, some of whom were giants. Just like us, God had promised victory, had promised them this land, but there were battles ahead.

God’s people, then and now, are in a battle for possession of the land, our souls, humanity’s soul. God has promised us victory, but we do not win every battle. We need to “put on the full armor of God” (Eph. 6:10) and listen to God’s instructions (Judges 7). Tactics will vary based on the enemy we face, the established sin in our lives, but the battle is real.

And there’s an uncomfortable truth hidden in the story of God’s people entering the Promised Land.

These were the nations the Lord permitted to remain so He could use them to test Israel. Judges 4:1

Therefore, so I would not become arrogant, a thorn in the flesh was given to me, a messenger of Satan to trouble me. 2 Corinthians 12:7

There are Canaanites living in the promise land; there are weeds in my garden, there are thorns in my flesh, there is evil in our midst.

When I started this blog, this adventure, I wrote the following:

A garden is an act of faith, just like the Christian life. You must battle internal demons that tell you, “you can’t do it;” “it’s too hard;” “you aren’t capable enough;” “the effort is not worth it;” “you will fail.” You must battle predators that devour your growth and steal your fruit. You must battle invaders that strangle your growth and divert your resources. You must endure weather that thwarts and threatens and damages what you can produce. But God has granted you a vision of ripe fruit where only barren ground now exists. God will give you the motivation, the ability, and the strength to be victorious in battle; victorious against inner demons, predators, invaders and inclement weather.

Welcome to the Victory Garden.

So don’t be discouraged by the Canaanites in the land, the sin that seems to never leave your side, the thorn in your flesh, the failings that keep you humble and dependant on God.

The Lord said to Gideon, “The troops are too many… Israel would only take the credit away from me saying, ‘my own hand has delivered me.'” Judges 7:2

My grace is sufficient for you, for power is made perfect in weakness. 2 Corinthians 12:9

Keep fighting my friend. God will bring victory in His time.

Betsy

The Journey

Photo by Lili Popper on Unsplash

Somewhere in my youth, I got the impression that starting something was almost the same as ending it.

Find Prince Charming and live happily ever after. Have a child and your life is complete. Accept Jesus as your Lord and all will be well. Plant a seed and you will have fruit. Build it and they will come.

Most of us have learned that it rarely works out that way. Starting something is just the first step. A very important first step, but just a step. If you’re ever grown anything, you know this firsthand. Jesus was talking to an agricultural society when He said,

Other seed fell on good soil and brought forth grain, some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty. Matthew 13:9

They would have understood that there was a length of time and a lot of activity between falling on good soil and bringing forth grain. Somehow, I expected it to be instantaneous; the beginning being almost the same as the end. I just assumed that accepting Jesus as my Lord would take away my love of sinning, fill me with love for humanity, and overwhelm me with joy and peace. You know what they say about that word “assume.”

Because sanctification is a process. The Church has developed big words to describe the process of Christian growth – justification, sanctification, glorification. Basically, the Church is recognizing that the beginning is not the same as the end, and that there is a growth process between the two. Jesus used much simpler words:

Jesus said to him, “I am the way.” John 14:6

The way implies a path, implies movement and activity, a change in scenery. A path may be curving or straight, rocky or smooth, uphill or level. A path implies a distance between the start and the end – and Jesus is the way to travel on that path. And Jesus is the beginning and end of that path as well, the Alpha and the Omega.

Everything in life, in nature, teaches us about the growth process. A child is not born mature. Seeds transform into plants; caterpillars transform into butterflies; tadpoles grow into frogs. Science teaches us that the earth is constantly changing and the universe is ever expanding. Why would I think the Christian life would be any different?

Nick and I took a class based on the book Sacred Marriage, which asks, “What if God designed marriage to make us holy rather than to make us happy?”  What if God designed life to make us holy rather than happy? America has constitutionally enshrined happiness as a goal, and pursuing it a right. I wonder how different our world would be if Thomas Jefferson had stuck with “property,” or, better yet, inserted the word “holiness?” Would we be pursuing holiness as arduously as we seem to pursue happiness?

What if I were to look at everything in my life as a step along the path to a closer relationship with God? Would I be able to accept pain and grief and frustration as part of the sanctification process?

So we do not lose heart. Even though our outer nature is wasting away, our inner nature is being renewed day by day. For this slight momentary affliction is preparing us for an eternal weight of glory beyond all measure, because we look not at what can be seen but at what cannot be seen; for what can be seen is temporary, but what cannot be seen is eternal. 2 Corinthians 4:16-18

Accepting Jesus as Lord, recognizing His gift of forgiveness and reconciliation, is just the first step. It’s the wedding, the birth, the re-birth, the seed. Justification is an incredible gift, but there is still quite a journey ahead. There will be difficult times; we may actually be unhappy sometimes. But Jesus goes ahead of us and beside us and shows us the way.

His divine power has given us everything needed for life and godliness, through the knowledge if Him who called us by His own glory and goodness. 2 Peter 1:3

Have a wonder – full journey my friends.

Betsy

Work in the garden

It’s annoying to me that gardening takes so much work. It’s annoying to me that Christianity takes work. Maybe I’m just lazy, but shouldn’t life and faith be, well, easier?

The earliest followers of God struggled with this same question. God gave us the answer over 4000 years ago: Nestled in the real life experiences of growing food to eat, God explains that we struggle because we are not in perfect communion with Him.

Our story, as told in the Bible, begins with a garden and fruit-bearing plants.  

And the Lord God planted a garden in Eden, … Out of the ground the Lord God made to grow every tree that is pleasant to the sight and good for food. Genesis 2:8-9

Easy. God walked in the garden and talked to Adam and Eve, and they had all they needed.

But that wasn’t good enough for them. They wanted to know more than God have permitted them to know. They wanted to satisfy their desires. They wanted to make their own rules. The result? Crops would no longer grow without effort;; man would have to work at his relationship with the ground and with God. 

And to the man He said, … cursed is the ground because of you; in toil you shall eat of it all the days of your life. Genesis 3:17

Fortunately, this is the beginning of our story, not the end. We have been promised, through Ezekiel and John, that this bountiful, toil-free garden will return when Jesus returns and man is once more in perfect communion with God.

Fruit trees of all kinds will grow on both banks of the river. Their leaves will not wither, nor will their fruit fail. Every month they will bear fruit, because the water from the sanctuary flows to them. Their fruit will serve for food and their leaves for healing. Ezekiel. 41:12

But we are not there yet.

While in this life, we have to toil in the garden. God is providing the food like He always has, but it requires some effort on our part. We must want the produce badly enough to work for it; we must want the relationship badly enough to work for it.

Because in this life, our relationship with God is broken. He presents Himself to us at every turn, but God does not force Himself on us. Until we are with Him in His kingdom, we must continue to “toil.”

And so we pray, “Thy Kingdom come.” We look forward to a time when life is not a struggle. We look forward to a future where we are in perfect communion with God. Most likely, we will “die in faith without having received the promises” like millions before us, still “desiring a better country, that is, a heavenly one. ” (Hebrews 11:16 ) And here’s the promise, the hope:

Therefore, God is not ashamed to be called their (or our) God; indeed, he has prepared a city for them. Hebrews 11:18

A city with a river running through it. Where we do not need to toil for food. Where we do not need to struggle to be in communion with God.

Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, bright as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb through the middle of the city. On either side of the river is the tree of life with its twelve kinds of fruit, producing its fruit each month. Revelation 22:1-2

Hang in there, my friends. Do the work, keep the faith.

Let us hold fast to the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who has promised is faithful. Hebrews 10:23

Thanks for sharing your time with me.

Betsy

The Tithe

Tithing, like gleaning, was a harvest law established when the people of God entered the promised land.

Set apart a tithe of all the yield of your seed that is brought in yearly from the field. Deuteronomy 14:22

The annual tithe, interestingly, was to be consumed by the giver, in the presence of the Lord, at the place that God chose, “so that you may learn to fear the Lord your God always.” v.23.

Every third year you shall bring out the full tithe of your produce for that year, and store it within your towns; the Levites, because they have no allotment (of land) or inheritance with you, as well as the resident aliens, the orphans and the widows in your towns, may come and eat their fill so that the Lord your God may bless you in all the work that you undertake. Deuteronomy 14:28-29

This is the tithe that most churchgoers know. Ten percent of our earnings go to the church for support of the staff and facility, and for charitable gifts to the community and the world.

The Levites, like the foreigners, widows, and orphans, did not have land allotted to them by Joshua. Therefore, they had no means of providing food for themselves. The Levites, instead, were to dedicate themselves to the service of God, the care of the temple, and the offering of sacrifices.

To the Levites, I (God) have given every tithe in Israel for a possession in return for the service that they perform, the service in the tent of meeting. Number 18:21

How the Levites handled this influx of grain and wine, who got how much and why, is not known, but Moses instructs them to “set apart an offering from it to the Lord, a tithe of the tithe. v.26

God, through Moses, set up tithing as an obligation, not as a charitable act. More like the taxes which support our first responders, teachers and civil servants. Unlike countries with state religions, our taxes do not support our religious institutions, but we, as the people of God, are still called to support them.

Bring the full tithe into the storehouse, so that there may be food in my house, and thus put me to the test, says the Lord of hosts; see if I will not open the windows of heaven for you and pour down for you an overflowing blessing. Malachi 3:10

We live in a time of financial disclosure, salary negotiations, and 501(c)s. Churches cannot rely on income anymore than businesses can. We review how non profits and business use the money they receive; we demand tax returns from our candidates for office. Do we monitor how we spend our own resources as closely as we monitor how others spend theirs? Are we bringing the full tithe into the warehouse? Are we supporting those who are maintaining our temples and offering their service to God? Are we presenting our tithe to the Lord, at the place of His choosing, so that we remember to fear the Lord?

I also found that the portions of the Levites had not been given to them; so the Levites and the singers who had conducted the service, had gone back to their fields. So I remonstrated with the officials and said, “Why is the house of God forsaken?” Nehemiah 12:10

It was not the Levites and singers that Nehemiah considered forsaken; it was God and His house.

I am often tempted to consider my wants and needs before I consider the needs of God’s house. God reminds us to not forget the source of our wealth, the source of our resources, but to remember and honor Him with a small portion, a tithe, of all we have received.

Take care that you do not forget the Lord your God. When you have eaten your fill and have built fine houses and live in them, … and all you have is multiplied, then do not exalt yourself … Remember the Lord your God, for it is He who gives you power to get wealth. Deuteronomy 8:12,18

Who am I honoring with my gifts, my wealth, my treasure?

For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. Matthew 6:21

Betsy

Gleaning

One of the more intriguing practices mandated by Mosaic law was gleaning.

When you reap the harvest of your land, you shall not reap to the very edges of your field, or gather the gleanings of your harvest. You shall not strip your vineyards bear, or gather the fallen grapes of your vineyard; you shall leave them for the poor and the alien. I am the Lord your God. Leviticus 19:9-10

When God’s people entered the promised land, Joshua allotted land to 11 of the twelve Israelite clans by sacred lots, based not on wealth or position or merit, but on God’s manipulation of chance. Joshua did not allot land for the foreigners, the non-Hebrews, who traveled and lived with the Israelites. And with few exceptions, women and children had no land. But without land to harvest, how would these people eat? Where would their food come from? God’s law made it very clear that these peoples were not to be allowed to go hungry just because they had no land; gleaning was God’s provision for the stranger living among the Israelites.

God’s law entitled any foreigner or landless individual to glean in anyone’s field; every land owner was to leave some of the harvest for them to glean. 

When you reap your harvest in your field and forget a sheaf in the field, you shall not go back to get it; it shall be left for the alien, the orphan and the widow, so that the Lord your God may bless you in all your undertakings. Deuteronomy 24:19

This was not charity by the landowner. The land was only “his” because God had allotted it to him; part of the responsibility of owning the land was following the gleaning laws. And the gleaners still had to work to harvest the portion set aside for them.

Sometimes, when I am figuring out tips or budgeting to the penny, these verses come to me. We are told to be good stewards, but also be generous with the gifts God has given us; leave a little wiggle room for those needier than me. Perhaps I should be willing to hire someone to do something I could do simply because they need the work more than I need the money?. After all, the landowner could easily harvest his land to the edges. Perhaps I just need to loosen my hold on “my possessions,” recognizing that they are all gifts from God.

And there’s no telling what may come from our willingness to follow God’s laws about sharing His gifts to us with others. Boaz was a landowner following God’s laws concerning gleaning, when he noticed Ruth, probably the most famous gleaner in the Bible.

She is the Moabite who came back with Naomi from the country of Moab. She said, “please let me glean and gather behind the reapers.” So she has came, and she has been on her feet from early this morning until now, without resting for even a moment. Ruth 2:6-7

Ruth, the foreign woman working in the field, grandmother to King David.

Gleaning may take many forms in today’s economy. Some non-profit organizations still glean the fields of commercial farms to add to food banks. Many grocery stores and restaurants donate unused food stuffs to homeless shelters. Some business intentionally hire disabled workers and ex-convicts, giving them dignity and a living wage. Many companies donate goods, services, and profits to help others.

Do I really need everything my field produces? Could there be someone who needs at least a little of it more than I do? Has God granted me land, not based on merit, but on His grace, requiring that I share the land’s produce with others? The Israelites did not consider gleaning charity. It was an obligation to God. I believe it still is.

Whoever has two coats must share with anyone who has none; and whoever has food must do likewise. Luke 3:11

Must. What must I share today?

Betsy

More than Enough

I have pulled up my garden for the year, but there seems to be more to talk about! Although I didn’t have much of a harvest this year, there have been years when the harvest was overwhelming. While harvesting the fruit may feel like the last step, it is far from it. That fruit can rot on the kitchen counter every bit as easily as it can rot on the vine. My first choice is to eat it, usually raw. My second choice is to give it away. Over the years, I have frozen a lot of homegrown veggies; my freezer is still full of sliced bell peppers in vacuum sealed bags. My children may inherit them! In the past, I have made tomato sauce, jarred cooked tomatoes and filled mason jars with pickles. If I lived in a time of scarcity or poverty or no refrigeration, preserving these products would be a vital part of gardening. As it is, I rarely used these foods and ended up throwing most of them out. Better to just give them away.

Giving the fruit away still entails some work. I need to pick out the best looking fruit and take them to people while they are fresh. I need to have a basket for carrying my produce to folks and bags for them to carry the fruit home. Not a hard task, but still a task. Do I feel so tasked with sharing other gifts God has given me? Am I being generous with my time and money? Am I using my skill set to honor Him? Am I making the effort or letting the fruit rot on the counter?

Like good stewards of the manifold grace of God, serve one another with whatever gift each of you has received. 1 Peter 4:10

I have a friend who makes bread and butter pickles every year from her harvest. She and her mom used to do that every fall, and the process connects her to her heritage. Family and friends expect this gift from her, and the pickles are a welcome addition to any gathering. Like all things homemade, they represent a gift of time and effort, more valuable than most things from Amazon.

These gifts are no small thing. God has gifted us with food and money and time and grace and faith and love. God has gifted some of us with business acumen or artistic skills. Some of us are gifted researchers or organizers or encouragers. When we share these gifts with each other, we strengthen the body of Christ, the community of believers.

Now there are a variety of gifts, but the same Spirit. To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good. I Corinthians 12:4,7

God has given you a gift. It may seem as small as a mustard seed, but what wonders God can perform with it! (Matthew 13:31) Two fish and five loaves, that’s all the boy had to contribute, but what God did with it! (John 6:9). Am I contributing what God has given me, no matter how small? Are you?

Thank you for continuing to read my thoughts on the garden and the Christian life. I hope to continue these posts for a while, although some will have little to do with gardening. I appreciate the gift of your time, and I hope God has made my words somehow meaningful to you.

For we are what He has made us, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand to be our way of life. Ephesians 2:10

Betsy