In my last blog post we chewed on a meaty passage from James chapter 3 (What’s Causing The Quarrels and Fights Among You?). Appealing to the church, James confronts two issues that seem to creep into the life of every believer from time to time: jealousy and selfishness. These fleshly attitudes are like weeds in the garden of our heart; left unacknowledged they will grow and produce more weeds, eventually choking out the produce in our garden.
Confession: I have very little experience with real gardening.
Almost everything I know about the green world has come from teaching science to my children. But in the practical exercise of gardening I have sown little and reaped even less. I consider it a successful harvest if I can keep my FOUR hanging baskets alive for the entire summer! There is a term for people like me: black thumb.
Despite my lacking green thumb, odd as it may seem, I tend to contemplate several Biblical concepts through gardening analogies. When James warns about jealousy and selfish ambition, explaining that wherever they are found there will be evil and disorder of every kind (James 3:16), I can’t help but imagine an over-grown, thorn-infested garden bed. I envision a place that once had the potential for beauty and sustenance but is now ugly and harmful. And those disturbing ideas cause me to ask myself, “How do I practically tend to my garden so that weeds don’t overtake it?” Obviously I’m not talking in a literal sense here – I’m talking about spiritual gardening. How do you and I nurture our hearts in such a way that our lives become bountiful gardens that nourish, refresh, and entice others to stop and partake of the beauty?
Yes watering and weeding are necessary, but beautiful gardens don’t exist simply because someone diligently tackles these chores. Something has to be planted in order for something to grow – a seed has to be sown. Our heart is like soil. Jealousy and selfish ambition are like weeds. What then are the seeds we need to plant in order to produce a harvest of righteousness? Perhaps James also knew a thing or two about gardening…
And those who are peacemakers will plant seeds of peace and reap a harvest of righteousness. James 3:18
What are these “seeds of peace” that he’s referring to? James answers this question by first distinguishing that Godly wisdom is different than worldly wisdom… in the same way a gardener would differentiate between organic seeds and GMO seeds. If you want to grow organic crops then you must plant organic seed. If we want Godly characteristics then we must seek Godly wisdom. And so James explains,
“But the wisdom from above is first of all pure.
It is also peace loving, gentle at all times, and willing to yield to others.
It is full of mercy and the fruit of good deeds.
It shows no favoritism and is always sincere.” James 3:17
In a sense James is giving readers a bag of mixed seeds in verse 17 that if sown with produce the harvest of righteousness he’s referring to in verse 18!
Seeds of Purity.
A pure heart is one that follows hard after God… not for religion’s sake but because of a hunger to know Him personally. When our joy and self-worth are found in the absolute perfection of Jesus Christ – not in the ever changing standards and fashions of man – we will produce a harvest of righteousness.
Seeds of Peace.
Peace requires sacrifice. It means making allowance for others faults and choosing to turn the other cheek. But when grace trumps legalism and personal agendas give way to eternal purposes we will reap a harvest of righteousness.
Seeds of Gentleness.
In the original Greek the word translated ‘gentleness’ (or meekness) wasn’t a weak term referring to someone who was nice and soft-spoken. Rather it identified a person as ‘having strength under control’. Gentleness is a quiet confidence that doesn’t parade its strengths before others or lord its power over them. When we surrender ourselves to the Lord in the same way Jesus did in the garden of Gethsemane saying, “Not my will but Yours be done,” we will produce a harvest of righteousness.
Seeds of Compliance.
Wisdom that is “compliant” (HSCB), or “willing to yield to others” (NLT), or “open to reason” (ESV) carefully assesses which mountains are worth dying on. When we seek understanding through listening to the ideas, opinions, and desires of others we promote peace. And in doing so, we will reap a harvest of righteousness because there is wisdom in the counsel of many (Proverbs 15:22).
Seeds of Mercy.
Mercy is forgiving a debt when you have the right to prosecute the debtor. Mercy paves the way for compassion. It doesn’t point the finger saying, “You made your bed, now lie in it”. Rather it offers hope and a way out. Seeds of mercy are sown into the soil of our heart when we begin to realize that WE are the ones in need of mercy as much if not more than ‘they’ are. When mercy produces kindness instead of condemnation we will produce a harvest of righteousness.
James implies that when these seeds take root in the soil of our heart then good fruit will grow! Our good deeds will be motivated by good reasons and the lives we live will be sincere and authentic – you might even say “organic”.
In essence James is simply echoing Jesus’s potent words:
I am the Vine, you are the branches.
Those who remain in me, and I in them, will produce much fruit.
For apart from me you can do nothing.
John 15:5
So, fellow gardeners (even those of us who might be black thumbs),
Let’s sow some seeds…
Keep a close watch on weeds…
And trust in the Real Gardener to produce a harvest of righteousness within us!
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Niki Schemanski is a wife of seventeen years and homeschooling mother of three children. A love of singing led her into an early career of performing and public speaking throughout Alaska and in various parts of the nation beginning at eight years old. After college, she spent more than a decade on staff as a worship pastor. Niki’s desire is to personally “taste and see that the Lord is good”. Her passion to help others do the same is what fuels her writing, worship leading, teaching, mentoring, and doula ministries. She and her family reside in Durango, Colorado.