GARDENS ARE PRECIOUS

Isn’t it amazing how you miss things in God’s Word? It is so rich and full and every day you see something new. It was already there but you hadn’t noticed it before. Reading James 5:7 I noticed the words, “Behold, the husbandman waiteth for the precious fruit of the earth.”

I was amazed to notice that God calls the harvest of the garden the “PRECIOUS fruit of the earth.” It is not something to take lightly or be despised. The Greek word for “precious” is “timios” and means “honorable, beloved, esteemed, and valuable.” It is exactly the same word that is used when it talks of about “marriage which is honorable,” “the trial of our faith which is more precious than gold,” the new Jerusalem descending out of heaven and the light is like a stone most precious,” the foundations of the new Jerusalem which are built with precious stones,” the exceeding, great, and precious promises of God’s Word,” and the most precious of all--“the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot.”

And God uses the same word for our gardens! God comes down to our world. His Word is not only spiritual, but practical. Gardens are gifts from God. They are provision from God. I am so aware of this as I plant my garden. All I do is prepare my soil and plant the seeds (and of course I have to weed and water), and then I watch God work. I see God-miracles every day as these seeds become little green shoots appearing out of the earth and then grow to big plants and then bring forth a harvest of food for us and many people. It is very precious. And it is all the work of God. Thank you, Father.

We can often forget the reality of God’s provision when we are used to going to the supermarket to purchase our fruit and vegetables. We can buy any variety from any country at any season of the year! Forget planting a garden! But can we really? Even the organic vegetables, which are usually too expensive to purchase, often look wilted and you wonder how long they have been sitting in the shop--losing vitamins and nutrients each day.

I love to go to my garden and pick my salad for lunch. I then go out again at supper time and pick ;my harvest to prepare for my evening meal. Everything is so fresh and lush. And not only is it so much healthier, but it is God-commanded. The very first task God gave Adam and Eve was to work in the garden He created for them (Genesis 2:15).

When the people of Judah were taken to Babylon as captives, the prophet Jeremiah brought the word of the Lord to them. Actually, from “the Lord of Hosts,” the God of the armies of Heaven! What great word would he give to His people, taken from their beloved homeland and now living in a materialistic, deceived, and ungodly country?

He reminds them of seven things, principles He gave them in the very beginning of time. And now He says: I want you to keep doing them. Yes, I know you are in captivity, but I don’t change my plans. Keep doing them no matter where you are or what your circumstances.

This post is getting too long to tell you all of them but the first two were: “Build houses, and dwell in them; and PLANT GARDENS, and eat the fruit of them” (Jeremiah 29:4, 5).

Why? Because they are God’s idea. They are God’s provision. And they are PRECIOUS!

Love from Nancy Campbell

Picture: The children of a dear friend of mine in Scotland--showing off the harvest of their garden. Colin and I stayed in their home again this last spring. I have walked around their lovely garden many times.