by Victoria Heinecke

Nurturing the garden around us.

You can listen to today’s devotion by clicking on this SoundCloud link.

“I planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but God has been making it grow. So neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but only God, who makes things grow.”
1 Corinthians 3:6-7 New International Version (NIV)

This weekend, we thanked Pastor Doug for his service at Holy Cross Lutheran Church. He received this woodcarving as a gift from the congregation. It’s over two feet across and weighs at least 30 pounds. The inscription below his name simply reads, “He preached Jesus.” The gospel, faithfully shared each Sunday over the past 22 years, stayed true to that foundational belief.

Sharing the gospel seems akin to gardening. Both activities involve planting seeds, watering, and nurturing for growth.

Perhaps it’s seeing the tangible result of gardening that serves as an encouragement to keep planting. It’s not solely by our efforts that a seed bears fruit, whether it’s in a garden of soil or the garden of souls. We plant seeds, but it’s the miracle of water interacting with the seed, along with the grace of God, that makes a plant grow,

So it is also with our souls.

Pastor Doug preached Jesus. The message is straightforward: Christ’s death on the cross and his resurrection paves the way for everyone’s salvation. “Paves” is not a mixture of tense in this sentence. Although the crucifixion happened years ago, Jesus’ sacrifice continues to bring us to salvation to this day.

There’s a hymn that assures us that sharing the love of Jesus with authenticity will bring fruit:

“If you cannot speak like angels,
If you cannot preach like Paul,
You can tell the love of Jesus,
You can say He died for all.”
Hark, the Voice of Jesus Calling, Lutheran Service Book #826

That’s the seed we can plant. We may never see a seed sprout or grow, but somewhere along the way it will get watered and by the grace of God, it will grow and thrive.

“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.“
John 3:16 NIV

Copyright Holy Cross Lutheran Church, Colorado Springs, Colorado