Here we are again. Another Lent. Another wilderness wandering. Another start to reflecting on the world via my very sporadic writings. It seems Lent has been the time I feel most compelled to write. Perhaps because of the introspective nature of the season. Maybe it’s just the experience of taking the United Methodist Photo-A-Day challenge and turning it into a post. All I know is here we are again and here I go again.
Day 15: Planted
There is something of a paradox to following Jesus. On one hand, becoming an apprentice of Jesus is to “die to self,” it is a move away from self-centeredness to other-centeredness. This surrendering of will is, on the other hand, a conscious choice Christians are invited to make freely. To choose self-denial; it’s not haphazard or spontaneous or accidental.
Unlike the dandelion whose seeds are blown by the wind, the breathy wishes of children, or are brushed by the passing of some creature, we who follow Christ are planted. And planting suggests a process, an intentionality.
The season is considered. Soil prepared. Water applied. To be planted is to be considered and cared for. In our language we might even say loved. But as I have already suggested, unlike simple seeds, we choose to be planted.
So when I read Psalm 1, I see choices being made.
1 Happy are those
who do not follow the advice of the wicked
or take the path that sinners tread
or sit in the seat of scoffers,
2 but their delight is in the law of the Lord,
and on his law they meditate day and night.
3 They are like trees
planted by streams of water,
which yield their fruit in its season,
and their leaves do not wither.
In all that they do, they prosper.4 The wicked are not so
but are like chaff that the wind drives away.
5 Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment
nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous,
6 for the Lord watches over the way of the righteous,
but the way of the wicked will perish.
The psalm suggests there are at least two ways to travel through life; “the way of the righteous” and “the way of the wicked.”
The “righteous,” those who choose God’s love, are like trees planted where they will thrive and grow, receiving all they need to bear fruit. The “wicked,” turn from God (sin) and “scoff” at those who have made different choices. They wither and die.
The real difference between them though seems to be whether or not they will produce “fruit” because being planted is also to die. As Jesus explains in John 12:24, “unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains just a single grain, but if it dies it bears much fruit.”
It seems to me Lent provides the reflective space to consider whether or not I want to produce the fruit that is the love of Christ; the fruit of the Spirit which Galatians 5:22-23 names as love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.
Do I want to be planted? I do and I pray the Gardener will help me grow, so I may produce much love in season.
Life is better together,
Shawn
Big Rubber Band Ball 