Planting vs. Gardening

I just spent some time sweating up in my garden attempting to remove all the unwanted plants that have crept into my plots. It only takes a few days for small weeds to become large weeds and take over the plants that I am seeking to cultivate. As I looked around our community garden at the other plots that people have I was struck by the difference between planting and gardening and the connection between gardening and the Christian life. Everyone in the spring becomes zealous about planting vegetables and seeing the fruits of their labor. People sift through the freshly tilled soil to rid their space of all weeds and seeds so that they will only have the plants that they desire growing in their oversized rectangle. The six packs and 3 1/2 inch pots are easily selected off of the greenhouse shelves and seem to slide into the dirt with ease. The peas and beans fall perfectly into place as one invisions what their mini-farm will look like come July. The sprinkler feels light and playful in one's hand as they moisten their young plants and seeds while the air is still fresh and the rain is in ample supply.

All of this seems to change as the summer schedule becomes hectic and the mercury rises outdoors. As the weekend approaches you have to choose between the lake and the weeds, and the lake always wins. After a long day of work you can head to the grill or up to the garden where immature weeds are doign their best to suck up your gardens nutrients and water. Once you return from a week of summer vacation you realize that some of your seeds have not come up, a few plants have been eaten by bugs, varments, or deer, and you can hardly see your tomato cages through the thick cover of weeds. Now it is decision time! Do I give up on the garden and call it a loss, or attack the neglected space like a hungry teenager on a cheese pizza? Your veggies want to produce and will bless your table with a bounty of goodness as long as you put in the time and effort.

In the same way that there is a large difference between planting and gardening, living a life for Christ is markedly different than accepting Christ as one's Lord and Savior. So many Christians are only concerened about "praying the prayer" or the four Spiritual laws, and not on a living faith that is difficult and messy. It is easy to walk down the aisle and affirm that you are in fact a sinner, but it is entirely different to live a life in Christ. There are certain weeds in your personal garden that require you to put on the leather gloves to uproot. Your spiritual journey requires daily watering, fertilizer, and lots of weeding. Just because I think that I have ridded my garden of all the visible weeds does not mean that the garden is actually weed free. Those thistles that you think you have pulled may have left some roots in the ground that will fester and develop over the next few weeks or months. If you desire to produce maximum fruit you must be watering, weeding, and tending to the garden of your life. Don't just plant seeds along your spiritual journey, but really dig in and get good at gardening your heart and soul. You will not be dissapointed.

Faith seeking understanding?

This posting is something that has been ruminating in my mind for quite some time. A couple weeks ago a wonderful friend of mine who lives in Plano Texas asked me a pointed question that called for a response that is now becoming a blog post. The question revolves around the balance/bifurcation that takes place in my mind between my theological studies and my spiritual journey and "devotional time." Here is my response to my friend:

These are great questions that continually are tossed around here on campus and I love to engage them. Some people refer to the Seminary as the cemetery. It is the place where you faith goes to die. I think this is ridiculous. Scholasticism and the Enlightenment are not the devil, they have simply been used by the devil! I see my studying as an integral part of my faith journey. For example this paper that I am typing on Acts is highly academic, but is extremely enriching to my faith because it allows me to understand in a deeper way what was taking place during the time of Acts and how the things that Luke wrote about are far larger than one can realize by simply taking the text at face value. I cannot separate the relationship that I have with Christ from my academic study, and in the same way I cannot turn off my academic mind when spending exclusive reflection time with J.C. The symphony sounds the way it does because of all the pieces, not simply because of one dominant part. If you take out the strings you are not going to have the same symphony. The great composers often spoke of the level of worship they felt while composing music. I think of the awe doctors must have when they discover how the body works. They do not have to shut down their relationship with Christ because they are in the lab. I once heard a baseball player say that if Jesus played baseball he is sure that he would have slid as hard into home plate as the next guy; he just would have helped the guy up! I think the church and the academy have ruined people, or at least put them through a lot of turmoil, by teaching that there has to be this separation. It gets back to Luther and the sacred vs. secular dichotomy. Wow, this is getting longer than you were probably expecting.

I am a firm believer in organic and holistic living. There can be no Cartesian dualism. (The belief that the mind and the body are separate entities that can be examined by themselves.) We are whole people who need to be whole and holy. The life that we live in Christ must be one in which the Spirit permeates all the nooks and crannies of our being. Just as I cannot shut off my personality in my writing or studying, I cannot turn off my critical evaluation of the reading that I do. The revelation of Christ and the power of the Holy Spirit must be always present as I study things like apriori knowledge and as I sit down to read through Psalms for personal edification.

I just thought this might be helpful to someone who is out there wrestling with the question of faith and higher education. It is more than "faith seeking understanding." It is a difficult situation that many face and need to be validated in their frustrations and feelings. I wold LOVE to hear your thoughts on the topic.