What Are You Planting?

Spring is in full bloom all around us! The birds are singing, flowers are beginning to burst from the barren ground, and soft rains are dancing throughout our weeks. Every long winter I excitedly await spring. I dream of the flowers that need to be planted, the warmth of the sun, and booming thunderstorms that shake my little corner of the neighborhood. Unfortunately, I also tend to forget in my zest for spring that the only things I am good at growing are lawn ornaments and flagpoles!

Even though I am severely lacking in a green thumb, nevertheless, I get excited every winter for the arrival of spring. I think that we are all like that. We live in such difficult times that there is something deep inside us that craves new life and the birth of things around us. Throughout the Word of God, scriptures talk about words being little seeds, and these seeds will either grow into beautiful healthy plants or thorny weeds. The beautiful plants add color, fragrance, and beauty within our lives. They enhance everything around us, unfolding unexpected moments of serenity and have the ability to generate incredible joy. Thorny weeds, on the other hand, grow uncontrollably and rapidly constrict everything around us.

When pausing for a moment to reflect upon this, as Christians we are sharing one large community garden with each other. Some are planting incredible and beautiful plants, and sadly others are choosing to plant thorny weeds. Every thought, word, and deed that you sow will begin to grow, I guess the question is, “What are you planting?” Do you intentionally rise each day pondering how you can radically impact the life of other in order to glorify God, or are you frustrated because those around you aren’t watering your garden enough?

In ministry, what we are growing are people. When we examine the ministry of Jesus, everywhere that He went He poured Himself into people. We have an incredible ability to either help someone bloom, or watch them wither. My favorite flower is the Sunflower because it always points itself towards the sun. If you filmed an entire field of Sunflowers and then watched it in time lapse motion you would see the whole field sway together in one fluid motion following the direction of the sun. It is absolutely beautiful to witness, and so is a church that loves to watch people bloom instead of wither!

Throughout your daily life, what are you choosing to plant, or in other words….what are you growing in your little corner of the garden? Every thought, look, word, action and or deed will either lift someone up or tear them down…so again I ask you, “What are you planting?”