Heart Gardens

Have you ever thought about the garden that you are growing in your heart? Everyone has one. We either plant stuff to make ourselves happy or we plant to please the Spirit. (Gal 6) And according to Jesus, everyone knows what's in your garden. Jesus told his disciples that a tree is known by its fruit.

No good tree bears bad fruit, nor does a bad tree bear good fruit. Each tree is recognized by its own fruit. People do not pick figs from thornbushes, or grapes from briers. The good man brings good things out of the good stored up in his heart, and the evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in his heart. For out of the overflow of his heart his mouth speaks

What fruit overflows from me? If I look at my words and actions honestly, what fruit does the world see? Our fruit is obvious to the world around us...what is in the garden of our heart? Have we let the Spirit plant the trees that will grow and abound in love, joy, peace and all the things of the Spirit? (Gal 5) Are we cultivating those trees with God's word and letting Him grow them to full maturity? God promises in Psalms 1 that a man who plants God's word in his heart will be like a tree planted near water...and it will yield fruit and grow.

The Spirit within me is constantly planting and growing His trees in my garden. I constantly struggle though with interrupting the Spirt and planting my own trees. You know, the ones I have "the right" to. The ones that are justified by my own mind and heart. The trees of bitterness, discord, selfishness and negativity. I am guessing that these trees spring up fast and and they crowd out the ones that the Spirit is so carefully and purposefully cultivating. But... which trees produce the fruit I truly want to see in my life?

I pray that God will continue to chop down every tree I plant in my heart. I pray that each day there will be more and more room for the beuatiful trees the Spirit is planting. I pray that my spot in the garden patch filled with "me" trees will get less and less and that the Spirit's will enlarge and become a full fledged orchard. I pray that out of this farm His fruit will begin to overflow from my heart to my mouth.

I can listen to my own words and know which trees I am watering. When I water the trees of selfishness and discord, my mouth pours out all of life's unfairness and what I have a "right" to do. When I am letting the Spirit take control of the heart garden, my mouth overflows with the things of God and things that bring peace and love.

God's word says we reap what we sow. I pray that I will move out of the Spirit's garden and let Him use my heart to grow in all God's fullness.