What A Nice Garden... If You Like That Kind of Thing...

[Image: Beautiful Order, 2013, JA Van Devender]

Jer. 29:4,5

⁴ Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, to all who were carried away captive, whom I have caused to be carried away from Jerusalem to Babylon:

⁵ Build houses and dwell in them; plant gardens and eat their fruit.

Gardens say a lot about the people who seriously plant and tend them. My wife accuses me of wanting tulips to be "marching all in a row like good little soldiers." I like spaces, a sense of open-ness, thoughtful ordered arrangements. I suppose, if we put an ethnic slant on it, I am essentially German/Dutch in outlook as well as horticulture.

She, on the other hand, could not be more British. What she wants is profusion, splashing colors poking out in a seemingly random fashion from cascading ferns and pleasant nooks. An English garden promises pleasant surprises when you take time to look for them. German/Dutch gardens delight in mathematical precision.

We are what we are, I suppose, and I am too lazy to be a good gardener, so, there is very little mathematical precision in our yard. Which, quite frankly is probably best for all concerned.

I think it interesting that the Bible begins and ends with a picture of man in his garden. What God starts out with is a pleasant place that we are to make even more delightful and where it ends is with that place whose abundant beauty is depicted in terms of flowing waters and trees of life. How each of us envision that eschatological home probably has much more to do with us than with what it will actually be, but, after all, that's what metaphors are for.

What God, through Jeremiah, told the ancient people of God directly and the modern people of God implicitly, is that planting gardens and enjoying them is supposed to be our life work until the Lord returns.

Babylon was not and is not, an essentially nice culture in which to live, to build homes, to raise children, and to make a living. Babylon (see Revelation) is the culture of fallen mankind, trapped in the narrow world view of the flesh, which neither truly appreciates or can truly appreciate the things of God. This is the world in which we are, temporarily, a captive people. What are we to do while we are here? Build homes and plant gardens. We are dwell where we are placed and beautify the place, ... to carve out a spot that even those who are still trapped in the chains of slavery will see as beautiful... orderly... or reflective of gay profusion.

The "garden" in scripture is a "pleasant place." Wouldn't that make a wonderful tribute in a person's eulogy - "He created a 'pleasant place' during his life." What is a noble goal for all people is actually a command, is a duty, for the child of God. As subordinate rulers in God's world, our mandate is to exercise dominion... to take the place and make it even more beautiful by using our God given gifts to do so. It is not a question of being qualified... it's a question of being committed to the task.

What if "success" in our lives was measured in terms of the "effect" we have on others by the atmosphere and design we bring to it (our life)? What if we were disposed to produce a calming effect, an inviting walk, a sense of beauty?

When we get right down to it, is that not what we see in the life of our Lord Jesus Christ? In a world of bestial cruelty, chaotic disorder, apparently arbitrary suffering, did He not bring splashes of color, breathing spaces of calm, and refreshing hope?

His purpose was to lay the foundations for a garden... a foundation on which subsequent generations of His followers would build... until it encompassed the entire earth. He told us that we would do even greater work than He in this regard. Like I said... it's not a question of being qualified... it's a question of being committed.

I am just as inept a physical gardener as I am a fisherman. That's why I can enjoy and delight in the work of those who are good at those things. But when it comes to that spiritual garden, ineptitude is no excuse because it is not the case. Through the indwelling Holy Spirit, all that call on the name of the LORD have all that we need for life and godliness. We have the tools... we have the skills... God will supply the wisdom... we need to undertake to plant, nourish and enjoy the fruits of our labor.

All we need to do is look at our lives from a gardener's perspective. What priorities are we really supposed to be pursuing? Once we think in terms of a "garden" that is meant to be beautiful and inviting and a place in which others are to delight, I think our relationships, our vocations, our church, and our families will be seen in a different light.

Now... shall we concentrate on putting all our tulips in a row or...... ?