Let me explain briefly. God, and only God, provides the ground to accept the seeds. My husband or one of his friends prepares the soil and the children and I plant the seeds (which God also provided). Then God, and only God, provides the water to grow the seeds into plants, the sun to feed the plants and the miracle of design to grow vegetables on those plants. You see, without God there would be no garden, no harvest blessing.
In this harvest time I have been pondering on the miracle of plant life. I find it so very interesting how many perennials and vegetables must sacrifice themselves in order to produce seeds. The beautiful flower must bloom and grow through it's complete cycle and then fade and die to allow it's seeds to be released. Or in the example of the fruit or vegetable plant, let's look at the tomato, the fruit must grow to maturity, drop from the plant, rot and die on the ground to release it's seeds naturally. They must die to produce more good fruit or flower.
Ok, so this is how my mind works... this miracle work of God in my garden makes me think of His miracle work on the cross. Christ had to shed His blood and die to produce new life in us. The only way that God could forever save His precious children and carry out His perfect plan to get us back unto Himself (in heaven) was to allow Jesus to sacrifice Himself so our sinful lives can be made new. Since we couldn't manage to remain pure and holy in our own strength (in the Garden of Eden), God had to provide a way for us to regain the purity (or new life) that we must have in order to enter into His presence again one day (in Heaven).
We celebrate this sacrificial offering of Christ's body and blood when we partake in the holy sacrament of communion (the Lord's Supper). This next verse of thanks comes from the text of the Last Supper where Jesus is celebrating the Passover with His disciples - or the very first holy communion.
"Then he took the cup, gave thanks and offered it to them, saying, 'Drink from it, all of you. This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins.'" Matthew 26:27 (and 28 - added for emphasis)
Are you following me here? The cup represents the blood of Jesus, which, in turn, represents his poured-out life (or death). Drinking the wine of the Lord's Supper as an act of faith is a claim of personal participation in the benefits of Christ's shed blood. What is the personal participation in and the benefits to us? Believing in and putting our faith in Christ's sacrifice, admitting and confessing our sins to Him and trusting that He will wash us clean so we may receive the benefit of eternal life in His presence in heaven. So, Christ had to die to cover our sins (unholiness) so that the seeds of His sacrifice can produce new life (holiness) in us. It's the only way. No matter how good we are, no matter how much we try, we simply can not earn our way to holiness. It's an unachievable goal. We must put our trust in Christ and receive His forgiveness. The only cost to us is our broken will by admitting our guilt and receiving that forgiveness through His blood offering.
When we realize the truth of God's unconditional love through the sacrifice of His Son, it not only makes life a lot more enjoyable, peaceful, and full - it takes a huge load off of our shoulders. Praise God! The only way to heaven is through a relationship with Christ. Like the flower or fruit, we must die to our old self (sin) and live in Christ (new, holy life). It's the only way. Live in Christ and thank Him daily for His loving sacrifice for our new life.
"For as the soil makes the sprout come up and a garden causes seeds to grow, so the Sovereign Lord will make righteousness and praise spring up before all nations." Isaiah 61:11
"I tell you the truth, unless a kernel of wheat is planted in the soil and dies, it remains alone. But its death will produce many new kernels--a plentiful harvest of new lives." John 12:24
"If we have been united with him like this in his death, we will certainly also be united with him in his resurrection. For we know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin - because anyone who has died has been freed from sin." Romans 6:5-7
"And be thankful." Colossians 3:15b
No comments:
Post a Comment