Daily Devotional for August 19, 2020
The Gardener
Lily frowned as she grabbed a pair of gardening gloves and a hat. Pulling weeds in her grandmother’s garden was the last thing she wanted to do on the last day of her summer vacation.
“Lily, I know this isn’t how you wanted to spend your time today, but I’d at least like you to have a little fun,” Grandma said after they had pulled a few weeds. “Don’t you have a garden at home?”
“Yeah, but I just water the plants,” Lily said. “The weeds won’t do much harm. And besides, it’s a lot of work.”
Grandma looked surprised. “You don’t pull the weeds in your garden? What kind of things do you grow?”
“I grow mint, parsley, cilantro, tomatoes, blueberries, and hibiscus,” Lily replied. “Wow!” said Grandma. “That’s a lot for one little girl.”
Lily shrugged. “I just water them on Saturdays, so it’s not that hard.”
“Only on Saturdays? I water mine once a day, and I pull the weeds out once a
week.”
Lily made a face. “That sounds like too much work to me.”
“But that’s what you need to do so the plants can grow and your garden will look
pretty,” Grandma said.
Lily sighed. “I guess my garden doesn’t look very pretty.”
“You know, that’s kind of like what our hearts were like before Jesus came into our lives,” said Grandma. “Nothing beautiful could grow in us because weeds of sin were sprouting everywhere. But then Jesus saved us. He watered us with His love and pulled out our weeds, and we grew under His care. And we’re still growing!”
“Wow,” Lily said. “Jesus really does a lot for us, doesn’t He?”
“Yes, He does,” said Grandma. “He takes care of us every day and gives us everything we need. He makes us beautiful.”
Lily nodded. “When I get home, I’m going to follow Jesus’ example and take better care of my garden. I’ll water it and pull the weeds out and everything!” She beamed at Grandma. “I could even buy a little bench to put in it so I can read my Bible out there!” she said, getting more and more excited.
“That sounds like a wonderful idea, Lily,” said Grandma. “I can’t wait to see your beautiful garden.” • Caly Groves
How about you?
Do you have a garden that you help take care of? Having a garden is a lot of work. A beautiful garden can’t grow if the plants aren’t watered and the weeds aren’t pulled. The same is true for us. We need Jesus to pull the weeds of sin from our lives and plant His love in us. Under His loving care, we will grow to be like a beautiful garden.
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