The Gardener - Alpha and Omega

I am a country girl, born and raised in a small town. I grew up with gardening, milking cows, raising pigs and chickens, and other duties that we were given. We had a little land, but not considered ‘a farm’. But, I knew what a real farm was, because I often worked in the afternoons or weekends for farmers who needed workers to hoe or gather their crops. Sometimes we were given some of those vegetables to take home with us.

Gardening is a hard task, at best. If you don’t have big tools, you often are give out, legs aching, when you finish the task of cleaning the land, plowing the garden spot, and then planting the crops. Afterwards, when the crop comes up, and weeds tend to raise their nasty heads, the work has really begun. You have to work hard in order to make a crop of vegetables, and not have them starved out by those pesky weeds.

But, I know a Gardener who once took the dust of the ground and made man – not a mere vegetable, although He is also behind all those seeds and plants we now put in the ground to become tomorrow’s food. He then breathed life into that man, and made him a living soul.

God is the Alpha (beginning) and Omega (end) Gardener. There is none like Him. He has all the resources to make the most magnificent garden in the Universe. Think back to the Garden eastward of Eden. He put in every tree imaginable, good for food, and also put in the tree of life. But, He also put in the tree of knowledge of good and evil. Then, he placed that man, Adam, along with his helpmate, Eve, among those beautiful plants, to help keep that garden. And, that’s where the story takes a rough turn: Adam and Eve partook of the tree that God had given Adam instructions to stay away from, and they were thrown out of that beautiful, safe, and luxurious garden made by the ultimate Gardener.

Although, man has had to pay for those mistakes, God is still a gracious God. He allows us to make our own way. He expects and wants us to follow His ways for our life, but we get sidetracked at times, and go about it the wrong way. But, He is still there, after our heart, prodding and plowing with His Word, speaking to our hearts in a manner we should not be able to resist, although many do. No matter what we decide, whether to let the Gardener do His work in ‘our garden’ or go astray, He is still the Gardener of the past, the present, and the future. You can choose to let Him plant in you a garden of good fruit, or you can hoe the weeds in yours. It is your choice.

HT: The Evangelical Ecologist – Knowing the Gardener
Farm graphic by Sandy's Place

Linked at Conservative Cat

Technorati Tags: Gardener, God, Eden, Alpha and Omega