I have been waiting until the sweeps of cold weather retreat to the north and we are once again on the spring schedule. Certainly the grass and weeds growing in my garden don’t seem to care what the temperature is, but my roses and other perennials suffer when the temperature dips.
The leaves are on the trees except for a few of the oaks. I love this time of year looking at the miniature versions of the leaves that will grow all summer. Soon the canopy will be full, and we will have welcome shade along the pathways. The summer resident birds have arrived. The yellowthroat warbler was the first, then the gnatcatcher and kinglet, and today the yellow warbler. Even the barred owls sing their mating songs deep in the woods. Although I’ve not caught sight of them yet.
We’ve had a lot of rain, so I’ve not put in my dill, cosmos and morning glory seeds, having learned the hard way that they will rot. I’ve been thinking about all the plants that are “planted” and wondering if that’s why we call them plants! The Latin is plantae meaning sprout or shoot. During creation, God said, “Let the land produce vegetation: seed-bearing plants and trees on the land that bear fruit with seed in it, according to their various kinds.” (1) I’m not sure how many returned after the flood, but we certainly have an abundance. I take great delight in planting seeds and watching them sprout and turn themselves into vines, plants and flowers and then produce seeds once more.
This made me think about the word implanted. If you look at the definition, it implies something inserted. We are all familiar with dental implants. And I recently had a pacemaker implanted. In education and teaching, it implies a sense of permanence. Certainly the Lord implanted His array of greenery in the garden and what we see regularly in the nature preserve are large trees, the smaller understory and an array of wildflowers.
The word implanted also implies purposeful intent. Certainly that is true of our Lord. It is also true when we create gardens for our pleasure and food. Purposeful means someone maintains the planting. Certainly God takes care of that through the rain and sunshine and the variations in the weather. As gardeners, we fertilize, water and weed to keep our plants strong. We even provide trellises for some to curl around and display their fruit and flowers.
The Lord implants The Holy Spirit in us when we become believers. When we take Jesus as our Lord and Savior, we are imbued with the living God in us. God implants Himself in us. The Bible calls it a seal. “In him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit.” (2)
Now that is a miracle! But we have a responsibility to make sure we grow in conformity to His will and desire. That means reading the words He left us in the Bible, meditating upon them, and committing as many as we can to memory. It means that “God is working in you, giving you the desire and the power to do what pleases him.” (3) That way, we continue His work of implanting His Word in our body and mind as well.
“So get rid of all the filth and evil in your lives, and humbly accept the word God has planted in your hearts, for it has the power to save your souls.”
James1:21 NLT
- Genesis 1:11 NIV
- 1:13 ESV
- Phil 2:13 NLT
