The Bible frequently uses horticultural metaphors to help us understand the Christian life:

• The New Testament writers speak of our sowing and reaping (Gal. 6:7-9; 2 Cor. 9:6).

• Believers in Christ are compared to branches that must abide in the vine and bear fruit (Jn. 15:1-8).

• Evangelism is described as planting and watering (1 Cor. 3:6).

• According to Paul, we need to be rooted in love (Eph. 3:17) and rooted in Christ (Col. 2:7).

• We are to bear the fruit of the Spirit (Gal. 5:22; Eph. 5:9), the fruit of righteousness (Heb. 12:11; Jas. 3:18), the fruit that leads to sanctification (Rom. 6:22), and the fruit of our lips that acknowledge His name (Heb. 13:15).

Since we all have a personal spiritual garden to tend, I’d like to offer some tips on what I’m calling “spiritual horticulture.” If you’re like me, you need all the tips you can get on how to make your garden flourish.

1.     Break Up Fallow Ground

Jeremiah 4:3 says, “For thus says the Lord to the men of Judah and Jerusalem: ‘Break up your fallow ground, and sow not among thorns’” (see also Hos. 10:12). Fallow means unplowed, and any farmer knows that you can’t sow a field that isn’t plowed. The ground is too hard for the seed to penetrate deeply enough to take root.

I well remember when my farmer dad used to “break” a field with his breaking plow, which went about eighteen inches deep into the soil. Few things are more beautiful to a farmer than a freshly broken field.

We all have breaking up to do in our spiritual lives as well. Sometimes our hearts get so hard that we can’t properly respond to truth. We shed no tears and feel no joy; we just feel dull and calloused. If that’s where you are, you need to break up your fallow ground.

How do you do that? By repenting of sin. You seek the Lord and ask Him to search you (Ps. 139:23-24). You examine yourself (2 Cor. 13:5) and repent of everything that’s keeping you from depending on Jesus and enjoying fellowship with God. This is the first step.

2.     Weed Out Worldliness

My yard usually looks nice and green—as long as it’s short! Unfortunately, most of the green things are weeds which grow fast and take over. While it’s bad in a yard, it’s worse in a garden, because weeds choke out good fruit.

Jesus used this as an analogy of those who fail to bear good fruit because weeds and thorns choke it (Lk. 8:7, 14). What are these weeds? Jesus tells us: “As for what fell among the thorns, they are those who hear, but as they go on their way they are choked by the cares and riches and pleasures of life, and their fruit does not mature” (Lk. 8:14). Cares, riches, and the pleasures of life—Mark 4:19 describes them as “the cares of the world and the deceitfulness of riches and the desires for other things.”

When anxieties about the future, love of wealth, or desires for “things” (iPods, books, boats, golf clubs, etc.) take precedence over spiritual concerns, then the soul is overrun with weeds. They look nice and innocent at first, but they get very ugly when they begin to really grow.

Worldliness has to be weeded out of our lives. We must limit our desires so that we use the world without abusing it (1 Cor. 7:31). This is difficult, especially in our culture. It requires discipline and often accountability, but it must be done. To change the metaphor, we must lay aside anything that keeps us from running our race well (Heb. 12:1).

3.     Sow Seeds of Scripture

Let’s move from the negative to the positive. Once the ground is broken and the weeds of worldliness are uprooted, we must sow good seed, which is the gospel, the Word of God (Lk. 8:11).

There are many ways the gospel can be sown in your life. The most obvious way is through hearing it preached, as demonstrated in the parable of the soils (Matt. 13; Lk. 8; Mk. 4).

Another way is through regularly reading and meditating on Scripture. Psalm 1 describes the blessed man as one who delights in the law of the Lord and meditates in it day and night. Such a man finds that “he is like a tree planted by streams of water that yields its fruit in its season, and its leaf does not wither. In all that he does, he prospers” (v. 3).

The Scriptures are full of God’s promises which, when taken to heart (planted) and trusted in, yield the fruit of obedience. One of the most important things I have learned is that the power for sanctified living lies in God’s promises. Just remember, the more seed you sow, the more likely you’ll yield an abundant harvest.

4.     Fertilize with Faith and Water in Prayer

Probably more people go wrong in gardening here than anywhere else. They break up the hard ground, clear out the weeds, and plant their seed, but then fail to fertilize and water.

Unfortunately, this is true in the spiritual life as well. While it’s one thing to plant, it’s quite another to patiently tend the garden. A primary way we tend or fertilize and water our spiritual lives is through faith-filled prayer and fellowship with God. There are different kinds of prayer to cultivate: 

• We should have regular prayer times to present our burdens, requests, thanksgiving, and praise to the Lord.

• We should cultivate spontaneous prayer as we go about our day-to-day business. It’s been said that Spurgeon prayed continually and was never out of fellowship with the Lord for more than ten minutes.

• We need to pray regularly with our families and fellow believers.

5.     Share the Fruit with Others

Don’t you love it when someone gives you a basket full of fresh fruit and vegetables from their garden? I do; but what I love even more is seeing spiritual fruit in the lives of other believers.

What do I mean by sharing spiritual fruit? I don’t mean that we should boast to other people about all of our religious good deeds (“I read this book,” “I witnessed to this person,” “I gave this gift,” etc.), because those are not necessarily fruit. What I do mean is the fruit of godly attitudes that become noticeable as a person grows in grace: 

• Meekness instead of anger after being provoked

• Sacrificial giving with a loving, quiet spirit

• Peace in the midst of trial

• Joy and excitement expressed over God’s goodness, with attention on God, not self

These fruits are truly sweet to my taste—and, more importantly, to God’s!