Beyond These Walls: Here We Go! Week 3 Devotional Day 1

DAY 1 – Monday

Daily devotional

Read

Mark 4:26-34, Colossians 2:6-7, 1 Corinthians 3:6-9

Ask

What can we learn about the different roles of people and God in growth in this passage?

Reflect

There’s a garden window above my kitchen sink. It serves as my mini greenhouse all year long and it plays host to various plants throughout the year. By various I mean we’ve grown basil, mushrooms, aloe, succulents, and even pinto beans. I definitely don’t consider myself to have a green thumb, but I do take joy in watching things grow. By trial and error, I’m learning how I can do my part in nurturing a plant into healthy growth (or accidentally forget about it and find it shriveled!)

Participating in growing plants seems to reflect how we participate in the Kingdom of God here on earth. Jesus applied this idea in a parable about how the kingdom of God grows in Mark 4 and we read it again from the Apostle Paul in 1 Corinthians 3: 6-9. As you read the Mark and 1 Corinthians passages draw two circles on a sheet of paper. Label one with God in the center and the other as “me”. Inside each circle record who is responsible for the various aspects of gardening according to our verses. Who is responsible for the growth? Only God. What jobs have been assigned to us, God’s Kingdom dwellers? Sharing God’s Word (sowing/planting), consistently nurturing and loving others in truth and grace (watering), gathering in and enjoying the fruits of growth (harvesting). It’s a simple visual with eternal implications.

God has given us everything we need to fulfill our gardening roles. We have buckets full of his Word, faith to step into fields God has prepared for planting, and eternal water overflowing from our Spirit-filled hearts. Let’s pray for the eyes to see and the ears to hear where God’s harvest is ripe so we can be people celebrating the amazing work God is doing in and all around us.