Victory Garden - 7/29/2010

Romans 1:19-20, "...since what may be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them. For since the creation of the world God's invisible qualities - His eternal power and divine nature - have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse."

When my wife and I first bought our house, there was a large, mostly empty garden spot in the front yard with three large yuccas and two small dahlias. My grandfather had always grown rose bushes, and I thought it would be nice to replace the yuccas with some roses. As soon as spring was approaching, Costco offered some nice varieties, so I was quick to snatch them up.

I live in a place with short summers and long, cloudy winters. I was stir-crazy for sunshine and for spring, so I started planning everything else that I'd grow. I went to a few "big box" stores and started shopping for bulbs. I was so stunned by the variety! Not the variety that the stores offered, but the variety of designs and colors my God created!

I've always loved God's creation - I loved to camp as a kid and get close to nature, and was so infatuated with animals that my childhood dream was to work in a pet shop (mission accomplished!). But, as I read about different types of plants for our front garden and learned how they grow, I couldn't help but be in awe of our God and His creativity, His attention to detail and variety.

Incidentally, after typing that last line, I was curious about the account in Genesis where God created the plants. I decided to search for it, figuring it was probably in Chapter 1, and unexpectedly typed verse 12 afterward; here is the verse that came up: "The land produced vegetation: plants bearing seed according to their kinds and trees bearing fruit with seed in it according to their kinds. And God saw that it was good."

"And God saw that it was good." What an understatement! Anything He declares to be good is so much more by our paltry standards.

So, to display what God saw as good, I started to select flowers for the front of our house with a specific purpose in mind: to show everybody what my God has created. Gardening became an act of worship for me, and almost an obsession during that first, long winter in our house. I know there must have been people who raised an eyebrow at a 30-something man growing roses and

flowers like a retired grandmother, but I don't care! I love what my God has made and I wanted to put it on display for all to see.

So now, I've got this garden out front with dramatic shapes, bold colors, and stop-you-in-your tracks fragrances. I like the verse above because I see evidence of a loving Creator who poured Himself into the basic framework of nature, creating the most subtle yet dramatic backdrop for the human experience. We are surrounded by evidence of His character and His very nature. I'm reminded

now of the lyrics to the song "Here Is Our King" by David Crowder:

"And what was said to the rose to make it unfold

was said to me here in my chest,

so be quiet now, and rest"

We can rest in the knowledge of who our God is, as seen by the work of His hand. I wrote earlier about a verse in 1 Kings that describes how God revealed Himself physically. The scripture above in Romans says God revealed the invisible qualities of His divine nature by what has been made. Here in 1 Kings, when he made Himself visible, He did so with the arrival of a quiet whisper. Not a thunderstorm. Not an earthquake. Not a tusnami/meteor shower/volcanic eruption combo. A quiet whisper.

That quality is evident in the delicate details of His creation. The plants He made are like the quiet whisper where God Himself can be found - you have to be still and take notice. He will not demand your attention in loud, showy displays. But if you look closely at His creation, He commands it. This is His character as seen in His creation.

Often we wait for God to interrupt our thoughts and daily lives with His next order or command. We continue along with our plans, waiting in quiet desperation for God to grab us and steer us along, to change our direction and do the work for us. But,

"His eternal power and divine nature have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made." That is not how He operates in our lives. Like the beauty He's created, God is always there for us. His power and ability constantly surround us, we have only to slow down and take notice. Let creation remind you of His quiet whisper. If you think He's gone or far away, you're wrong. He's right there, waiting for us to be quiet now, listen ... and rest in Him.

The garden I planted was my attempt to show this - the invisible qualities of God's eternal power and divine nature. I sometimes think of it as my "Victory Garden." That was a term used during the world wars for private vegetable gardens, designed to make families more self-sufficient, leaving more food for soldiers at war.

However, we are reminded numerous times in the scriptures that victory belongs to the Lord. In 1 Corinthians 15:54 and 57, Paul writes, "'Death has been swallowed up in victory'" (quoting Isaiah), and "...thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ." If God's creation displays His divine nature, then it can show us the victory of Christ as well. He swallowed death ... just as His creation demonstrates life arising from death. At the end of the growing season (a sad time for me), death comes to all the stunning colors and shapes in the garden. But in the spring ... Victory! Oh, the drama of gardening!!!!!

Christ conquered death, and victoriously rose to life from a corpse. In the spring, life comes again to the garden. Beneath

the decay of last year's flowers comes the tender shoots, bright leaves, and new flower buds. We are reminded again of God's eternal power and divine nature. We are confronted by His unchangeable constancy. We see victory over death!

Let God's creation remind you that His power is eternal and His nature divine. He is as approachable as an unfurling rosebud releasing its fragrance, and more beautiful than the burning colors of tropical blooms. Here is our King, remember His Victory!

“But ask the animals, and they will teach you, or the birds of the air, and they will tell you; or speak to the earth, and it will teach you, or let the fish of the sea inform you. Which of all these does not know that the hand of the LORD has done this?” Job 12: 7-9

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