Sprachen 
“From now on, every day on earth, sowing and harvesting, frost and heat, summer and winter, day and night shall not cease.”Genesis 8:22.
I’ve spent a lot of time in the garden over the last few weeks. There was a lot to do there. Starting with the clean-up work, cutting trees and shrubs, preparing and turning over the soil, weeding and planting, sowing and watering vegetables, lettuce and flowers.
As is well known, you reap what you sow, but it takes a lot of work and care before a garden like this is harvested. Growth doesn’t happen by itself. Many factors work together to produce fruit. It needs the sun, light, good soil and water. But not only good things grow in my garden. If I don’t do anything, if I don’t cultivate my garden, more and more weeds will grow and overgrow everything. Weeds grow by themselves and faster than anything else and I have to regularly pull them up and weed the garden, get rid of them so that I can have a good harvest in the end.
I can learn a lot from gardening. In a figurative sense, I can also compare the garden to my heart. In my heart, too, the principle of sowing and reaping applies. Negative thoughts such as worries, fears, pride, arrogance, envy, egoism, greed, anger, impatience, bitterness, doubt, hatred, unforgiveness want to settle in my heart under certain circumstances. I need to regularly examine my thoughts and uproot those roots lest they overgrow everything else and allow good fruits such as love, forgiveness, joy, peace, courage, generosity, humility, mercy, grace, gratitude, kindness, patience, faith, etc. to grow and I can reap good things.
“For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed evil thoughts, fornication, theft, murder, adultery, greed, wickedness, deceit, licentiousness, envy, slander, pride, foolishness. All these evils come from within and make people unclean. Mark 7:21-23“
“Most of all, guard your heart, for your heart affects all of your life.” Proverbs 4:23
Focus on what is true and decent and right. Ponder what is pure and lovely and admirable, things worthy of distinction and praise” Philippians 4:8
As well as keeping the garden free of weeds and constantly checking what is growing, I also want to look into my heart again and again. What are my thoughts? What do I sow in my inner garden? What thought patterns should I discard? Which weeds should I uproot? Is there room in my heart for the good fruit? How can good fruit grow in my heart, what do I need for that? I need the right nutrients, I need light and water. All of this I find when I stay in touch with Jesus, when I stay in his love. Jesus helps me to distinguish good from bad and with him I can give up everything that weighs me down, all the weeds in me, his word is food for my soul, and I can only grow and bear fruit in relationship to him. He is my light and the living water I need. The Holy Spirit in me should guide my thoughts and get space in my heart.
Jesus says: “I am the vine; you are the vines. Whoever abides in me and I in him will bear much fruit. For apart from me you can do nothing.”
“Every thought that rebels against God I take captive and put under the command of Christ” 2 Corinthians 10:5
