Dress and Keep part 2
God never requires anything FROM us that He doesn't first provide FOR us. We love... because He first loved us. So if God's command to us is to dress and keep the garden... that means He must first dress and keep US. Because you can't give what you don't have. And you can only give what you do have. There's a line from a movie I like that says, "It's an island, sweetheart. If you didn't bring it here, you won't find it here." Something along those lines. Point being--if it's not already inside you, you can't do anything with it. The key is receiving and releasing. Letting God love you, and then loving Him back by loving the people you come into contact with. Freely you have received, freely you can give. And when we're talking about gardening, and trees, and fruit, we need to really understand how important and how powerful it was when Jesus cursed the fig tree and caused it to wither and die. Look at Matthew 7:19-20, "Every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire. Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them." The Gardener has to do some pruning. Get rid of some things that don't belong or don't fit. And that pruning is what empowers the rest of the forest to grow. When you cut out the cancer everything else is healthy. When you get rid of the things that don't fit you have room for what does. I think so many times in our lives we just get used to being uncomfortable. We just accept things whether they are for us or not. And that, friends, is not a good way to be. I'm not saying you will never be uncomfortable. Sometimes you have to go out on a limb, because that's where the fruit is. Sometimes you have to stretch yourself. Go a little farther than you thought you could go. That's not what we're talking about here. What we're talking about is when something doesn't sit right. When something makes you feel wrong. The tummy test, as I like to call it. If something makes your tummy hurt... man, trust your gut. God gave us instincts for a reason. We should listen to them. If something doesn't feel right, chances are you don't need it in your life. You only have one life. It's not for everything and everybody. Boundaries are not only good, but they are important. Vital. If you don't stand for something, you'll fall for anything. Stand for love. Stand ON love. The Rock, the foundation, on which we can build. The solid ground on which we can stand and not be shaken. All I'm trying to say today, and in this Rant series, is that dressing and keeping THE garden--your enivornment, wherever you are at any given time--starts with the understand that Jesus, the true Gardener, has already dressed and kept HIS garden--you. Look at Ephesians 5:26-27, "That he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word, That he might present it to himself a glorious church, not having spot, wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish." That's not something that needs to happen. That's what happened 2000 years ago on the cross. That's not what we need. That's what we have. That's who we are. It feels like we are constantly being pruned. But the truth is... the work is finishe. What is happening is that we are coming into the understanding of what it means to be without spot, wrinkle, or any such thing!