Written by Kathy Reagan, volunteer with Iron Rose Sister Ministries in Texas

I’ve been a gardener for many years. Isn’t it wonderful how God teaches us life lessons using His creation?

I planted a large garden several years ago, together with my daughter-in-law, Sharon. We had a friend with a tractor come in and clear a huge area for us; we were so excited! It took two whole days of toiling in the garden to plant everything we wanted to raise, including blueberry bushes, a nice selection of herbs, a wide variety of vegetables, and even a few fruit trees. We could already taste the fruits and veggies! And imagine the yummy variations of common dinners with fresh herbs added!

Well, that year was the rainiest summer on record; cloudy every day, very little sunshine all summer long. (And that was very rare for our part of Colorado!) Needless to say, we yielded very little from our enormous garden; just a few carrots, if I remember right.

What can we learn from this experience?

We, like a garden, need sunshine to grow and bear fruit! The Word tells us to “…grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ” (2Pe 3:18a ESV). We see it is God’s will for us to grow in our spiritual walk with Him. In fact, it is our privilege and joy to look back and see the spiritual growth in our lives!

Our goal is spiritual maturity so that we can bear fruit, being established in our faith, with roots that sink deep and anchor us to our Creator (Col 2:7).

And just like my garden, our growth to maturity requires light.

One definition of light is perfect brightness, pure radiance.

God is light, and in Him is no darkness at all(1Jn 1:5a).

How do we feast on the Light to grow?

1. Long for the pure milk of the Word. “Like newborn infants, long for the pure spiritual milk, that by it you may grow up into salvation” (1Pe 2:2).Like a baby longs for mama’s milk and needs it to survive, we long to be fed by God’s Word, His teaching. Just like a newly planted garden draws its nourishment from light to grow, we feast on Jesus’ light in God’s Word.

2. Walk in the Light. “For you were formerly darkness, but now you are light in the Lord; walk as children of light, (for the fruit of light consists in all goodness and righteousness and truth), trying to learn what is pleasing to the Lord”(Eph 5:8-10 NASB).God’s glorious light warms us, feeds us, leads us, and lights our path. “Your Word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path”(Ps 119:105 ESV).

3. Squash the darkness. Remember that “God is light and in Him is no darkness at all” (1Jn 1:5a),so, as we try to learn what pleases Him…
   • We need to pull weeds that pop up constantly in our lives. “…let us lay aside every encumbrance and the sin which so easily entangles us and run with endurance the race that is set before us”(Heb 12:1 NASB).
   • Pruning is necessary. “Put to death therefore what is earthly in you: sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire and covetousness, which is idolatry”(Col 3:5 ESV).Just like we trim back weak areas of our healthy plants to keep them growing well, sometimes we must prune our own lives!

When we grow to spiritual maturity, the Light can’t help but shine brightly out of us, and we bless the world as they see our Father in us and are drawn to Him.

You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.(Mt 5:14-16)

Just like my garden, when the light is obstructed or limited, growth slows to a crawl, and there may be no fruit at all – or even death.

Sisters, allow me to strongly encourage us all to let the Light shine brightly inside us daily by nourishing our spirits in God’s Word, walking daily in the glorious light of Jesus’ example, and taking regular inventory of our own spiritual growth so we can consistently weed out the sin that wants to grow slowly up around us and strangle us.

Then Jesus’ glorious light will shine out of us to bless the world and those around us, and we will bear fruit and be pleasing to the Father of lights (Jas 1:17)!