The first of a few thoughts around one word – CONSIDER…..
Consider the lilies of the field….
Jesus is keen for us to recognise how precious we are to God and how we can trust and rely on him. Matthew 6:28 and Luke 12:27 tell how Jesus’ followers are to “consider the lilies of the field..” as we think of our place in God’s creation. The word “consider” in Matthew tells us to “learn thoroughly” ; a similar, though different, word in Luke tells us to ” perceive thoroughly and thoughtfully”. Both passages encourage us to take time to look, to see thoroughly, to understand, to learn.
So it occurred to me…what can I learn from our garden when I consider the plants in it?
We’ve never got the hang of neat rows. We plant where there’s a space and hope. Of course we water plants in; we sometimes grow our own from seed and get huge delight when we see they actually survive! We use ground cover plants to avoid weeds – we hate weeding. Sometimes we even adopt plants which we’re told are weeds but we like them. It’s a great confusion of colour at this time of year and we love it.
But, when I consider our garden, what do I learn? That every plant is needed. in the confusion is a beauty which would be unbalanced and spoiled if one were missing. I remember the stories behind them all – the dahlias we thought we’d lost during the winter which are now showing through; the buddleia which has rooted itself in the wall and which comes through for the butterflies each year and so on. So – if I value each plant like this and treasure the joy they give me, how much more must God love everyone in his world and how he must rejoice to see people thrive and live alongside each other, sometimes in the most unlikely combinations. Sweetcorn, beans and courgettes grow well together. No one really knows why, but they do. It’s called companion planting. Our plants seem to get on well too, despite their variety and differences. Perhaps, when Jesus asks his followers to consider the lilies of the field he’s not just saying “think about how valued you are by God”. Perhaps he also wants us to realise how valuable and necessary we are to each other.
Prayer: Thank you Father God for the variety of people in your world. Thank you that we’re all different and special. Give us the grace to value each other and rejoice in the way we balance each other in your creation. And give us the love and discernment to see the variety and richness of the people around us in the way you see it. Amen