"I am come into my garden, my sister, my spouse." Song of Solomon 5:1
"The heart of the believer is Christ's garden. He bought it with His precious blood, and He enters it and claims it as His own. A garden implies separation. It is not public property; it is not a wilderness. It is walled around or hedged in. Would that we could see the wall of separation between the church and the world made broader and stronger. It makes one sad to hear Christians saying, 'Well, there is no harm in this; there is no harm in that,' thus getting as near to the world as possible. Grace is at a low ebb in the soul that can even raise the question of how far it may go in worldly conformity.
A garden is a place of beauty. It far surpasses the wild, uncultivated lands. The genuine Christian must seek to be more excellent in his life than the best moralist, because Christ's garden should produce the best flowers in all the world. Even the best is poor compared with what Christ deserves; let us not put Him off with withering, dwarfed plants. The rarest, richest, choicest lilies and roses should bloom in the place that Jesus calls His own. The garden is a place of growth. The saints are not to remain undeveloped, always mere buds and blossoms. We should 'grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ' (2 Pet 3:18). Growth should be rapid where Jesus is the Gardener and where the Holy Spirit is the dew from above.
A garden is a place of retirement. The Lord Jesus Christ would have us reserve our souls as a place in which He can manifest Himself in ways that He does not reveal Himself to the world. Oh, that Christians were more reserved, that they would keep their hearts more closely guarded for Christ! We often worry and trouble ourselves, like Martha, with much serving, so that we do not have the room for Christ that Mary had, and we do not sit at His feet as we should.
May the Lord grant the sweet showers of His grace to water His garden this day."
(Charles H. Spurgeon, "Evening by Evening")
A garden is a place of beauty. It far surpasses the wild, uncultivated lands. The genuine Christian must seek to be more excellent in his life than the best moralist, because Christ's garden should produce the best flowers in all the world. Even the best is poor compared with what Christ deserves; let us not put Him off with withering, dwarfed plants. The rarest, richest, choicest lilies and roses should bloom in the place that Jesus calls His own. The garden is a place of growth. The saints are not to remain undeveloped, always mere buds and blossoms. We should 'grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ' (2 Pet 3:18). Growth should be rapid where Jesus is the Gardener and where the Holy Spirit is the dew from above.
A garden is a place of retirement. The Lord Jesus Christ would have us reserve our souls as a place in which He can manifest Himself in ways that He does not reveal Himself to the world. Oh, that Christians were more reserved, that they would keep their hearts more closely guarded for Christ! We often worry and trouble ourselves, like Martha, with much serving, so that we do not have the room for Christ that Mary had, and we do not sit at His feet as we should.
May the Lord grant the sweet showers of His grace to water His garden this day."
(Charles H. Spurgeon, "Evening by Evening")
2 comments:
Wow, this really blessed and encouraged me tonight. Thanks!
I'm glad you liked it, Beck. I wish I was half as eloquent as Spurgeon! I love his work.
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