Day 18 - Bamboo and Gardens

Day 18 - Bamboo and Gardens

Scripture Reading — 1 Corinthians 3:10-15; John 15:1-11

Bamboo

The bamboo plant seems to do almost nothing for the first four years of its life. But sometime during the fifth year, it shoots up 90 feet in 60 days. Would you say that the bamboo grew in two months or five years?

Bamboo could not grow so rapidly unless it stored up nutrients for several years. If we put Christ first in our lives and make Him the foundation of our life, we will see growth and transformation, even though it may be years before the results show.

Anything founded on Christ will not be destroyed by the fire of judgment. Selfish pleasures will not survive the grave. So build on the foundation of Christ’s finished work with enduring values. Don’t be discouraged if results aren’t immediate. Growth will come. It’s the promise of God.

Gardens

God is a gardener who wants to produce choice crops. God begins by digging the soil and planting the seed. It can be painful when God turns over the soil of our lives, but He does it for our own good. The hard ground must be prepared to receive seed and let it grow. 

As the seed begins to sprout, it must be watered. The water of God’s Spirit must pour over our lives. Each of us has to ask to be filled with the Holy Spirit. As the blossom begins to emerge, it must receive nourishing sunshine. We have to continually place our lives under the sustaining light of God’s Word. 

Then pruning takes place, as God works in our lives to trim out unproductive branches and insure a maximum harvest. Finally the fruit matures, and the harvest approaches. People are blessed by the fruit we produce when we are actively sharing with others the blessings God has given us.

You see, transformation is a process. But God is involved in the whole process. As we allow God to cultivate our lives, the final harvest will be astonishing.

Heavenly Father, thank you for the firm foundation of Christ’s finished work. We know that as we remain in the vine of Christ, we will have everything we need. Help us to build solidly with faith, hope, love, forgiveness, reconciliation, and more, in Jesus’ name. Amen.