“And the Lord God planted a garden eastward in Eden…” (Genesis 2:8)
My garden is beginning to pop up and, like always, it brings me so much joy to see these little plants spring into existence. Even though I’ve been planting things since I was a little girl I can never quite get over the miracle of how tiny, hard seeds can be buried in the ground and then grow into food. Even if I live to be 100 I don’t think I’ll ever cease to be amazed by it.
Last spring I went to a gardening workshop held by one of the men in my church. He began his lecture, which was to a church audience, by saying that the desire to plant and to grow things is part of our eternal nature as children of God. For, he said, God is a gardener. One of the first things He did after he created the earth was to plant a garden in Eden. The scriptures didn’t say that he “commanded” a garden or that he “willed” a garden into being, but instead that he “planted” a garden. The spiritual symbolism in that word is rich…
…but mostly I like to imagine that perhaps it means that even God himself takes joy in getting dirt under his fingernails, mud on his shoes, digging his elbows deep into the earth, and perhaps even smiles when the first little seedlings poke their heads above the ground.
He is the Master gardener.
“And the Lord God took the man, and put him into the garden of Eden to dress it and to keep it.” (Genesis 2:15)
Yes, isn't it wonderful? There is a very neat parable in Isaiah (28:23-29) about gardening and how the Lord cares for His children. I love thinking about it when I work in my garden!
Great post! I love this parable a lot. I can only plant so much on my balcony, but getting a glimpse of how Heavenly Father feels when a tomato pops outta its vine goes a long way!
Lovely green. What would it be like to have green around?