Barcelona: Day 57 : Spiritual Garden .

Every day I have bible verses and devotionals emailed to me. One is just a verse, another is a verse and an explanation/reflection, and the devotional is a verse with a relation to everyday life. I usually save the ones I really like and a couple of days ago I got a great one. It was talking about the parable with the seeds -- how some fell on rocky ground, others on thorny ground, and others on rich soil. I'm sure most people who are even remotely big on religion know this story -- but the way it was presented here was really well done -- so I'll post it and you can read it.

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Gardening Tips

Anyone who grows a garden wants it to produce a good crop. But gardening is more than buying a plant from the store. It's a lot of work.

When Jesus told the parable of the Sower (Mark 4:1-8), He told of four types of crops. Three failed, but one succeeded. We can learn spiritual truths by looking at what made them fail, and we can use these gardening tips in our own lives to produce a bounty of Fruit of the Spirit.

Tip #1: Plant your crops. Seeds don't plant themselves, and birds eat the seeds left on the path. If you want to grow the Fruit of the Spirit, you have to plant its seeds in your life. One of the best ways is by reading the Bible. A dusty Bible on your bookshelf doesn't nurture growth. You have to dig into it and allow the Spirit to plant His Word in you.
Tip #2: Till your soil. Rocky soil keeps the roots from growing deep. We bury a lot of hard things in our lives such as anger, resentment, and prejudice. Tilling your soil breaks up rocks and brings them to the surface. Once you remove them, you allow the seed to grow deep roots. Those roots are able to find refreshing water even during periods of drought.
Tip #3: Pull the weeds. Weeds choke the life out of an otherwise healthy plant. With a million things competing for our attention, our spiritual life can suffer if we neglect it. Jesus said the weeds of life are "the worries of this life, the deceitfulness of wealth and the desires for other things" (Mark 4:19). Be diligent about pulling these weeds. After all, you're not growing a weed garden.
If you find your spiritual garden is a mess, don't give up. With time and practice, and the work of the Holy Spirit, you, too, can display a beautiful masterpiece.
Think About It...
What does this devotional reveal to me about God?
What does this devotional reveal to me about myself?
Based on this, what changes do I need to make?
What is my prayer for today?

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Each of us seems to have their own sort of spiritual garden that we need to work on. I love this concept -- the idea that each of us is a work in progress, and that with hard work and dedication our garden can flourish. But without that hard work, we may have trouble devoting ourselves to Christ.

I'm gonna leave it off at that -- I think that the words of the devotional really speak for themselves, and that it is written much better than I could write it, so do me a favor and take a moment and just check it out and reflect on it for a moment.