The Garden of Faith
Hosea 10:12 NIV
"Sow righteousness for yourselves, reap the fruit of unfailing love and break up your unplowed ground; for it is time to seek the Lord, until he comes and showers his righteousness on you."
About a month or so ago, I planted my vegetable and herb garden, along with my flower beds. I was so eager to get my seeds planted this year because I just knew that this would be my year to have a fruitful garden. My garden had struggled over the past couple of years. With my kids being under two years apart in age, it was exhausting to try to pack a baby up to go out and tend to my garden. As a result, my flowers wilted, and my plants produced minimal fruit. The thing about gardens is, that you get what you put into them. You've got to put in the time and the effort to reap a rich reward. Similarly, the Israelites who were living during the time of the prophet Hosea were very sinful. They had turned their hearts away from God and were worshipping the idols of foreign lands. However, God spoke these words through Hosea to His people to remind them that, if they put effort into their faith (just as they would a garden) they would reap a rich reward.
For one's garden to flourish, though, we must first cultivate the land. A seed cannot be sewn in the dirt that has not been plowed-or at least broken up somehow. Likewise, the seeds of our faith cannot be sewn inside of us if we are not willing to break up the stubborn dirt within and allow God's seeds to take root. After we've broken up the dirt and allowed the seeds of righteousness to be sewn, we must tend to our crop. Much like a gardener or farmer tends to their crops until harvest, we too must nurture and care for our crop of faith (through our obedience and relationship with God). Then on the day of our harvest, we will see the rich reward that is God's unfailing love and faithful promises. Then, everyone will know that you were rooted in the garden of righteousness.
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