A Fruitful Harvest

One of the great pleasures of this time of year is walking down the row of a well-tended garden and harvesting produce. Whether you have done all the working of tilling and planting and weeding yourself, or if you are fortunate enough that someone else has invited you to harvest from the garden they have been caring for; it is deeply satisfying to find something that is ready to pick and put it in your basket.

The more carefully the garden has been tended, the more enjoyable it is to harvest the crop. It is quite obvious when a garden has not been weeded. In fact, if the weeds are allowed to grow, they make it hard to even determine where the rows have been planted. Of course, weeds use some of the same nutrients in the soil that the planted crops need, so those plants tend to be less vigorous and produce smaller fruit than they would if they didn’t have to compete with the weeds. Weeds also seem to invite pests to come and feast on the plants that are working to produce the fruit you hope to enjoy.

You know that God was the first gardener. He planted a garden in Eden and would take walks there with Adam and Eve in the cool of the evening. God would often inspire the prophets to remind the people of Israel of God’s care for them with the images of a garden. Many of Jesus’ parables refer to God’s work in the world as being like the work of one who tends a garden. Paul occasionally referred to his work of spreading the good news as part of the process of growing an abundant harvest.

This summer I hope that many gardens produce much fruit—lots of squash, tomatoes, beans and corn; but I have a deeper hope—that God will produce a great harvest of fruit in the lives of those he loves. Paul tells the community of believers in Galatia that God is working through the Holy Spirit to produce fruit in them. It is the fruit of love; and that love is expressed in peace, joy, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.

As we celebrate Pentecost and the sending of the Holy Spirit into the midst of the community of believers, we will begin to focus on the seed that God has planted and the ways we can cooperate with God as he tends the garden that is growing among us. I pray the family of faith at Garden City has the most fruitful summer ever!