God Speaking

“Let my teaching fall like rain and my words descend like dew, like showers on new grass, like abundant rain on tender plants.” – Deuteronomy 32:2

Every gardener will tell you about the joy one feels in finding that first little shoot on a favourite plant or the delight that comes in discovering that the seed so hopefully planted has taken root or the deep satisfaction of success as that first little bud begins to unfold.

The history of man begins in a garden and God himself is referred to as “the gardener” (John 15:1) and we are called “a planting of the Lord” (Isaiah 61:3). Every true gardener has a nurturing nature and we human gardeners know only too well that neglecting plants, not taking care of weeds, forgetting to water, no sunlight or fertilizer, means no beautiful plants. Tender young plants need even more careful nurturing and the verse from Deuteronomy is a charge to all of us to be especially aware of the tender plants in our lives.

Children have a special place in our Lord‘s heart and many a church has a stained glass window with a picture of Jesus holding a small child and being surrounded by others under the caption,

“Suffer little children to come unto me, and forbid them not; for of such is the kingdom of God” – Luke 18:16 (KJV)

We as adults have a huge responsibility to nurture these little ones. You may be a parent/grandparent/aunt/uncle/teacher or even just have young people in your life and so need to be aware of the role the gardener is to assume with the tender plants the Lord has placed in your life. Our children today are bombarded with a plethora of bewildering messages from the media, the school ground, social networks etc. They hear God’s name used as a swear word. Scripture is no longer read in our schools. Organized sport has taken over from church going on a Sunday morning. Our little tender plants are being deprived of the life giving abundant rain which is promised to bring about growth in their lives.

This life giving rain is to be found in the teaching of God’s word. Moses passes on some valuable tips for ensuring our children hear,

“Teach them to your children, talking about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up.” – Deuteronomy 11:19

The result of us keeping God’s word alive is found in Psalms 78: 4 – 7,

“Then they would put their trust in God and would not forget his deeds, but would keep his commands.” – verse 7

When we nurture those tender little plants the prophesy of Jeremiah 31:12 will be fulfilled.

“… They will be like a well watered garden and they will sorrow no more.”

Are we ready to put on the gardening gloves?