My Big Black Thumb

 

 I love to have beautiful plants around my home, but I have one problem.  I have a big black thumb when it comes to growing plants.  If something could grow in a crawl space with little water, chances are good it would survive my care.  It isn't that I do not water my plants or give them plant food.  I do not know what it is, but most plants I purchase or are given die within a month.  So, when I go plant shopping, I look for hearty, Florida weather resistant plants to put in my gardens.  Thus far this year, they are doing well.  The key, I am told, is keeping them watered and fed until their root system gets established once they are placed in the ground.  In fact, this is also important to the Christian's life.  If we do not have deep roots,  our growth is stunted not unlike the plants.
     As I was reading in Isaiah yesterday, I came across a verse that made me think about the importance of a strong root system.  In speaking to the King Hezekiah, Isaiah foretold the defeat of Sennacherib and the Assyrians and the growth of the remnant of faithful believers in Judah.  Chapter 37 verse 31 and 32 read:  "And the surviving remnant of the house of Judah shall again take root downward and bear fruit upward.  For out of Jerusalem shall go a remnant, and out of Mount Zion a band of survivors.  The zeal of the Lord of hosts will do this."  I loved the imagery in verse 31 of the roots going downward and the fruit coming upward.  This is what we are meant to do.  Those whom the Lord calls to salvation are like green plants whose roots need to be established.  God is the ultimate in gardeners...no black thumbs for Him!  Once God has planted us in His vineyard, how is it that we can grow?
     Psalm 1:1-4 has some answers:  "Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked, nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of scoffers; but his delight is in the law of the Lord, and on his law he meditates day and night.  He is like a tree planted by streams of water that yields its fruit in its season, and its leaf does not wither.  In all that he does, he prospers."  Here is a picture of a man who puts the Word of God first in his life.  He does not allow those outside the faith to counsel him.  He does not hang around with bad company.  Instead, he meditates on the truths he reads in the Bible.  He fills his mind and thoughts with wisdom from the Lord.  That is why this man has roots like a tree planted by a stream.  There is a constant water source when we are planted in Christ.  Remember the words of Christ as He spoke to the woman at the well?  "13 Jesus replied, “Everyone who drinks some of this water will be thirsty again. 14 But whoever drinks some of the water that I will give him will never be thirsty again, but the water that I will give him will become in him a fountain of water springing up to eternal life.” This is a joyful picture to think that we will not thirst again.  However, there is a condition.
     In John 15:5, Jesus tells us:  "I am the vine; you are the branches; Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing."  The secret to bearing much fruit is to abide in Christ.  We do that through prayer and daily Bible study.  This is our plant food dear friends.  Jesus causes us to grow because we cannot grow on our own.  Just as we could not save ourselves, we also cannot cause fruit to burst forth in our lives without an intimate relationship to our Lord.  What happens if we do not abide in Christ?  He tells us in verse 6 of the same chapter in John:  "If anyone does not abide in Me he is thrown away like a branch and withers; and the branches are gathered, thrown into the fire and burned."  These are people who have heard the Word, but have walked away from Christ having never been brought to salvation.  We do not want to live like them for the Lord has planted us to bring glory to His name.  In verse 8 of this chapter, we read:  "By this my Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit and so prove to be my disciples."
     My mother had a favorite saying:  "The proof is in the pudding" meaning that when a life bears evidence that we are doing what we say we are going to do we make an impact on those around us.  As we bear fruit, we demonstrate that we have deep roots, well watered and cared for by the Lord.  This is the sign of a healthy life in Christ.  Of course, we must not forget that God will also prune us from time to time removing things in our lives that ought not be there.  It is not pleasant at the moment, but it also helps us to produce better fruit down the road.  As I said, He is the ultimate gardener.
     While I may never be a "green thumb" when it comes to growing plants, I want to be a watered plant bearing much fruit in the house of my God.  Don't you?  The key is seeking Him in His Word and through prayer on a daily basis.  This is the water that will keep us from thirsting again and in dry seasons, our leaves will not wither.  Selah!



Photo compliments of Aaron Thayer at the Naples Botanical Garden.