We are well into May and those of us who live with changeable seasons are enjoying the longer days and warmer temperatures. Our thoughts have migrated from hibernation to irrigation as we plan and prepare for our lawns and gardens.
Unfortunately, I, for one, am not a garden variety preacher. My green thumb was surgically replace at birth with a television remote. Actually, that's really not true. I love the great outdoors as much as the next guy, but I would rather be walking and watching and experiencing nature then digging up the Dahlias. With that thought in mind, this May 1999 Edition of the Heavenly Top Ten is:
“Top Ten Biblical
Justifications For Getting
Out of Your Gardening Chores”
- Instead of using Garden Gnomes, place a flaming sword and a Cherabim on the edge of your lawn and tell people that God has forbidden you to enter. (Gen. 3:24)
- Don't waste time weeding your lawn and garden, because to the question, "Do you want us to pull them" Jesus said, "No!" (Mat. 13:28)
- Isaiah 40:8 says, "The grass withers and the flowers fall, but the word of our God stands forever." So I figure, focus on the eternal — instead of cutting the grass and planting the flowers, go for a walk and memorize a verse or two!
- Jeremiah 12:4 blames a bad lawn on the sins of the nation, so if your neighbor complains about your lawn, tell him that if he started going to church with you, your lawn would look better!
- I interpret Daniel 4:25 to say that too much interest in your landscaping is a sign of insanity, especially if you're thinking of installing an underground sprinkler system!
- Matthew 6:28-30 tells us that a good lawn is about faith, not works!
- Genesis 3:17 says that God cursed the ground as a result of Adam's sin. I feel obligated to maintain that "cursed look" as a symbol of our fallen nature and need for Christ!
- Songs of Sol 6:2 says, "My lover has gone down to his garden, to the beds of spices, to browse in the gardens and to gather lilies." This guy left his wife waiting because he wanted to pick some flowers? All I can say is: Some people are gardeners, and others are lovers. I'm a lover!
- Hey, look what gardening did for Naboth! (1 Kings 21:15)
- And the number one biblical justification for getting out of your garden chores is:
- John 19:41 tells us that at the place that Jesus was crucified, there was a garden. Coincidence? I think not!
The Heavenly Top Ten is intended to be a fun look at
issues of faith and fellowship. It should not be considered a serious treatment
of
any of the topics presented.