It’s Our Garden

To me there is no tomato as good as a fresh garden tomato, but it has been several years since I have experienced one.  You see, some years we receive too much sun and other seasons we experience too much rain.  It is only by the perfect balance of these elements that the plant is able to produce a tomato with the taste I crave. 

There are many other factors that contribute to producing a good tomato in addition to these.  The seed must be planted in fertile soil.  The PH must be right.  Weeds must be constantly removed so not to suffocate and strangle the roots of the plant.  Insects and related infestations must be dealt with in a timely fashion.   If all these things work in unity the plant will grow healthy and strong and yield   much wonderful fruit. 

In this garden there can be many joys, many hopes and many dreams.  Yet, it must be nurtured and tended and cared for to grow.  Where would we be without sun and water?  If we are denied both continually all of its life will cease.

No one abuses his own body, does he? No, he feeds and pampers it. That’s how Christ treats us, the church, since we are part of his body. And this is why a man leaves father and mother and cherishes his wife. No longer two, they become “one flesh.” This is a huge mystery, and I don’t pretend to understand it all. What is clearest to me is the way Christ treats the church. And this provides a good picture of how each husband is to treat his wife, loving himself in loving her, and how each wife is to honor her husband. – Ephesians 5:29-33 (The Message)