The Flowerbed
A parable

I often visit my friend who has the most beautiful flowerbed. Flowers of all colours, shapes and fragrances. Joyful and bright! I wanted a flowerbed just like theirs. I have a four by four metre garden in front of my house. I imagined all the beautiful flowers I would have there and every day when I walked past the garden I would look to see whether a flower had popped up from the soil. Day after day, week after week, month after month I watched and waited for a flower to grow in the garden. My friend’s flowerbed continued to blossom and change, growing more beautiful every day. Eventually, I become disheartened and showed my friend the garden, which had not one flower.

My friend looked, paused, and asked me “Did you plant any seeds?”. Seems silly really. How could I expect to grow a single flower without having planted a single seed? This is how it is for many of us. We learn about God’s grace, goodness and mercy from others. This is good and edifying. But the seeds they are planting in us can only go so deep. Their seeds can only grow flowers that are so strong, with roots only so deep. We need to plant our own seeds, learning the word directly from God and His Holy Spirit of truth.

We need to read the Bible with a teachable and humble heart. Time spent with God and His Word plants deep seeds and creates strong fruit, with deep-seated roots that change us to be more like Jesus every day. We learn to trust God as much as Jesus trusted His Father, enabling us to walk in the fullness of God as Jesus did. We too can be like those who have a close bond with the Father and have His word deeply ingrained in their minds and hearts. Start planting your seeds today and see the beautiful flowerbed that will flourish manifoldly and spectacularly. All glory to God!!

Seed planting – setting up your own flowerbed

Spend time with God and His word. The Holy Spirit of truth will bring understanding to you. As you come to know your Father better, you will enter into His rest and you will live out the teachings of the Bible led by the Spirit of God. God is your Father and He wants you to have a genuine knowledge of His love for you. He wants you to know that you can truly trust Him in all things. Live by faith, for God has made you free!

Ephesians 3:14-19
“For this reason I bow my knees to the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, from whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named, that He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with might through His Spirit in the inner man, that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the width and length and depth and height –  to know the love of Christ which passes knowledge; that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.”

Illustrations used with permission. jtbarts.com

Teachings

Below are various teachings to help you slow down as you read the Bible. I pray they will help you come to a greater wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of the Son of God. Amen!