“I am the vine, you are the branches. The one who abides in me while I abide in him produces much fruit because apart from me you can do nothing.” – (John 15:5 ISV)
During this pandemic, most people are prone to cultivate one hobby after another. Due to the quarantines and lockdowns, we have no choice but to stay home and make ourselves busy. One of the most popular hobbies that emerged during this time is attending to plants and being called a “plantito” or a “plantita”. I turned out to be one of them. In gardening, I learned that plants grow differently – some thrive when watered daily, but others prefer being watered once a week only. Some like full sunlight exposure, while others grow even when placed in shady areas. Even the kind of soil specific to the needs of a plant has to be considered. But there are two things common in them – without a gardener and being detached from the soil, they will die.
Likewise, our relationship with God is like that of gardening. God is the one who patiently waters us according to our specific needs, places us in areas of sun exposure or minimal exposure depending on what is best for us, and put us in a special kind of soil mixture where we will grow and bear much fruit. Once in a while, He also sprinkles us with vitamins for us to grow fully.
In this time of anxiousness of being infected with Covid-19, experiencing the pain of job loss, the physical distance from our loved ones, the stress related with homeschooling, and the feeling of isolation among others, it is so easy to be detached from God and believe the lies of the enemy. But thank God for His Words which remain our true source of spiritual food to help us thrive even when our environment and things around us are not conducive to growth. Each day we are being sanctified by faith to bear the fruits of the Holy Spirit – love, joy, peace, patience, gentleness, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, and self-control. We may not be able to bear all these fruits all at the same time but God, our gardener, is always patient with us. At times He prunes us (which can be painful) so that we may bear fruits and better ones. Through the process, we only need to remain in Him because apart from Him, we are nothing.
May we all develop a habit of abiding in Christ and drawing our spiritual food from His Words daily. Amen.
