New Plantings

I will greatly rejoice in the Lord; my soul shall exult in my God, for he has clothed me with the garments of salvation; he has covered me with the robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom decks himself like a priest with a beautiful headdress, and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels. For as the earth brings forth its sprouts, and as a garden causes what is sown in it to sprout up, so the Lord God will cause righteousness and praise to sprout up before all the nations. (Isaiah 61:10-11 ESV).

Each year in the spring Mary likes to plant a couple of container tomato plants. This year she thought it would be nice to go to one of the local big box stores and get some new clay pots to put them in. Needless to say we had “sticker shock” when we saw that they were $60-70 each. So, the solution was simple. I could build her a wooden planter for her plantings. I had some cedar left over from another project and put it together in an afternoon; however, the next step was the hard part. I had to go and get plants. We returned to the nursery of our local Lowes and found two that we wanted. Of course I had to read the description of the various types available. One that I selected was a “Better Boy” grown and marketed by Bonnie Plants. The following was the description: High yields of smooth skinned, large fruit earn Better Boy a spot as one of the most popular tomatoes grown in the US and as one of our all time best sellers. The fruit has excellent classic tomato flavor with just the right balance of acid and sugar. This is a great slicing tomato. It is widely adapted throughout the country. Grow it in a tall cage or tie to a stake for support. Well, we’ll see. Hopefully the birds won’t get them before we do! It also recalled our reading to my mind. The prophet likens God to a farmer who will bring forth “fruit” in our lives as we become a living demonstration of God’s faithfulness. The result is that He takes pleasure in us. He delights in making righteousness spring forth upon the earth in the form of believers living true to His Word. He delights in our praises, with His people acknowledging the One True God and reflecting back to Him the goodness He showers upon us. He delights in our being a testimony to the nations that He is the Sovereign God whose loving care extends to all. Just as seeds sprout from the ground because of an unseen power, when we respond to Jesus as our Savior, then we spring forth as His holy garden covering the earth. We are brought to life through His powerful Holy Spirit and will be transformed in our resurrected life. I hope that I would be such a plant in this world. I wonder if I were on the plant shelf at the local church big box, what would my description be?