Thornland

I can't keep plants alive to safe my life (pun!). I tried to start a balcony garden when I lived at the condo; within a couple of weeks, I was forced to close the curtains when people came over to shelter myself from the embarrassment of pots of mud and brown crumbly foliage. I had a cactus when I was younger, and it's been my only successful plant to date.

With that said, I have become acutely aware of the consequences of sin and the destructive force that it has in all of the facets of our being. A little sin goes a long way like yeast in a loaf of bread or a stain on a favorite sweater... or weeds in a garden.

I found this chart online (so it must be accurate) and was amazed at the power weeds have on other plants. Weeds are interspecific exploitation competitors to the native species. For all you kids out there that didn't choose to take three sciences in one year, that means that weeds limit the resources of and are a completely different species from the ones they compete with. A rosebush doesn't have enough mineral ions or water because there's thistles sucking up all the nutrients. An oak seedling can't grow because there's a giant dandelion casting a shadow on its photoreceptors. Vines wrap around a bed of sunflowers and choke them, prohibiting the movement of material through xylem and phloem. Vegetables can be over 1700% more bountiful when they are weeded. When somebody takes the time to invest in their growth, the plants explode in produce. It takes effort, but the benefits are evident and amazing.

I don't think I am unlike a garden; God compares us and our relationship to it often. I think it's undeniable the extent of the connection that we have to it. Gardens are a symbol of creation; they're constantly growing and producing. They suffer times of drought or dormancy but always return with new life in the spring. They are diverse and unique; no two gardens are exactly alike. Sometimes, life is created for the first time (primary succession) and sometimes, life returns after a period of destruction (secondary succession). We see the self-containment of gardens expressed through terrariums; the environment is self-sustaining and needs nothing more than itself to flourish. God first put us in a garden so that we would prosper and promises the return of one.

We all know that plants typically thrive if four main things are present: water, sunlight, air, and dirt.

A plant without water will not survive, but Jesus is the living water to sustain us (John 4:14).

God breathed into man, giving them life (Genesis 1:7).

We come from dirt (Genesis 1:7), made to cultivate the land for His use and His purpose (Genesis 2:5, John 15:8).

Jesus is the light that gives us life (John 1:4).

Plants can't function if they lack even one of these resources (with the exception of dirt in some cases - but that's quite the explanation). Interestingly, all of these factors point back to God... No matter which element is missing, it will always create a gap between you and God and strip you of life. Your garden will not flourish. It won't even bloom.

He also teaches us that He is the gardener, constantly pruning us and tending to our needy selves (James 1:2-5, John 15:1-2). He points out that we have no chance of producing fruit unless we remain in Him (John 15:5, 8).

God makes it perfectly clear what our "fruits" are and what our weeds are (Gal 4:19-23).

Sexual immorality Hatred Dissensions

Impurity Discord Factions

Debauchery Jealousy Envy

Idolatry Fits of rage Drunkenness

Witchcraft Selfish ambition Orgies

Love Patience Faithfulness

Joy Kindness Gentleness

Peace Goodness Self-control

It's worthy of noting how many more weeds there are than fruits; it's so much easier to be evil. Temptation is abundant and bad seeds are going to land in our garden, but it's a question of whether or not we are going to let them take us over. It takes so much less effort to not prune away or sin or fertilize our lives. I can easily leave my bible in my car for a week; reading it actually takes action. It's convenient to leave homework until Sunday or to go to sleep without praying. It takes no extra effort. It's easy to give in to temptation; it doesn't require a fight. When we allow habitual sin into our lives, we essentially are saying to Satan "Go ahead. Steal my nutrients. Choke me. Cast shadows over me. Kill my garden. Destroy my fruits." The Gardener is willing to cut off our dead leaves, tie our weak branches to crutches, and till our soil; the process can be painful, but the bounty is good.

Sometimes its hard to tell the difference between weed flower and fruitful flower. Sin seeps into our lives; dandelion seeds gently float into our soil and take hold, quickly reproducing. From my own experiences, having a healthy desire exercise more can quickly turn into a disorder. A generous heart can lead to comparing oneself to others. Opportunities can morph into pride. We must immediately nip the problem in the bud; it takes time and effort to nurture each individual flower.

All good botanists know that one single weed can destroy an entire environment. It can completely take over the area (competition!). I don't think I'm guilty of all of the transgressions on the list. I'm not a fan of orgies or drunkenness, but I do know that there are some definite things in my life that are choking me. Jealousy? Dissension? Even fits of rage? Yep, I'm guilty of temper tantrums, coveting relationships, and arguing. Being made in the image of and filled with Jesus, I know that I can't be completely void of goodness, though. I'm faithful to my beliefs and the people I love. I'm working on my self control (aka "filtering"). But even the tallest, most beautiful lily becomes worthless when it's choked by a vine. I find it hard to love others because I am choked with anger and bitterness. I struggle with trust because anxiety is sapping me of my energy. Sometimes I can't find it within me to be kind or gentle because I'm having a hissy fit or being impatient. One weed kills the whole garden. Not only is my anger going to tear apart my ability to love, but also every other aspect of my life. Encouragement is awkward, faith is shrouded, trust is non-existent, and goodness is not seen when I'm filled with anger or rage. It sucks me of my life and my ability to create. How much more fruit could I produce if I weeded my garden? How much more could I serve God and serve His people? How much farther along would the Kingdom be if the Church cultivated their land more than once a week?

“This garden is your soul. This mess is you! Together, you and I, we have been working with a purpose in your heart. And it is wild and beautiful and perfectly in process. To you it seems like a mess, but I see a perfect pattern emerging and growing and alive – a living fractal.”

The Shack W. P Young

Young agrees that we are a garden and yet a beautiful disaster. It's a slow cultivation to go from a seed without festering life to a manipulable sapling to an enduring redwood. It takes years of patience and hard work to expand from a single rose bush to an entire greenhouse of diverse species. From a distance, a garden can look like a mess of shapes and colors. I think some of the most beautiful landscapes aren't the ones that have every plant in a neat row, perfectly sculpted into an exact shape. Instead, the plants are wild and free to grow whenever nature takes them, while still being pruned into a coherent pattern. In a fractal, the pattern is the same at any magnification; the image is repeating over and over again, and when you step back the overall picture is again beautiful in another dimension. Is love, joy, or peace apparent in every facet of my life? Is it significantly prominent anywhere? Can people look at my life as a whole and see a complete mosaic of Jesus?

I love the idea of my life, my garden, always evolving and emerging. I love that I can be beautiful today and be beautiful tomorrow, and yet be different. I love even more that even though I may see myself as an absolute failure, Jesus tells me that I'm everything He ever wanted and yet still encourages me to become so much more.