Somewhere along the way in which, I discovered that I actually enjoy landscaping. When the weather is favorable, I often search for an excuse to work within the yard or across the house.
Roughly ten years ago, I planted a row of daylilies in front of my house toward the sting of our yard. We enjoyed them, as did our neighbors. For most of that point, they looked beautiful, and I at all times appreciated watching them grow and bloom, but for the past two years, we’ve been dissatisfied in them. I’m undecided why, but a few of them died off, and those that remained haven’t flowered.
This week, I made a decision it was time to make a change to that section of our landscaping. I dug up the remaining daylilies and gave them away. In their place, I planted a row of compact rose bushes that bloom all season long, from Spring until frost. I’m told that they’re very hardy and will last a superb very long time. The only downside of planting them was coping with the thorns. My arms are all scratched up, and it looks like I got in a fight with an offended cat.
If you’ve ever tended a garden, planted a tree, or taken care of landscaping around your own home, your expectations for what you’ve planted are obvious. You wish to see it grow and flourish. You want to observe your plants thrive, particularly after the care, feeding, and protection you’ve provided for them. If they don’t thrive, you’ll regretfully feel compelled to tear them out of the bottom and replace them.
Imagine how the Lord must feel as He looks upon humanity, knowing that He has given us every opportunity to thrive. He has planted us in fertile places, nourished us in countless ways, and provided each spiritual and physical protection for us all throughout our lives in ways in which we sometimes perceive but often don’t. In response to His many blessings, how are we doing? Are we thriving? Do we flourish in life and provides Him the glory He rightly deserves?
If you’re a student of the Bible, you’ve likely noticed that along with providing look after humanity normally, the Lord has enriched the kids of Israel with innumerable blessings. He made them a people and a nation. He spoke on to them through the prophets. He protected them from adversaries that were stronger and more quite a few than them. He even selected to tackle flesh and be born amongst them, but how did they reply to His blessings? Did their faith in Him blossom, or did it wither?
Sadly, on the time of Christ’s earthly ministry, the people of Israel demonstrated a withering faith and a refusal to flourish. We see that illustrated in Mark 11:12-25.
Photo Credit: ©Pexels/kurt lichtmann
