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| The early bleeding heart, we planted into a container so we could bring it in during the cold nights. In the still gloomy winter, it was such a blessing to tend. |
The earliest stories in the Bible indicate that the people realized this truth and built goals in their lives around foundations of this truth. They often focused on how they might double livestock for instance, to gain wealth. They considered having large families to be a blessing. They planted and celebrated great feast days around the harvest. They built systems of investing in one another.
So many times "religions", including Christian, will take the stance that we must have less to be in line with God's approval, or religious leadership approval. Entire nationalities have adopted "a religion" and misused it to suppress it's populace and take from them their blessings. It has happened many times down through history. These are the opposite of God's blessing. And it was understood by early American leadership, many of whom, had family or ancestors who had fled such nations, religions and posessive kingdoms. Satan, who is the prince and power of this world, is the author of life that takes away blessings, and when America's early founders wrote freedom into our documents, they intended to protect us from a system that would do as many others have, and suppress the ability of people to seek those blessings. Sadly, I fear, we are quickly on our way to giving over to Satan our great nation which was based on principles of blessing.
The bible tells us that the one true God does not want us to live a life always seeking to live with less, in order to please him. Living with less material things can help us focus on living a life for Christ sometimes. But when Christ condemned the fig tree, it was because it didn't bear fruit. The whole of the uniqueness of earth itself, is that it is able to reproduce, to be fruitful and multiply.
It is the desire of God's heart to bless us, and he does that in a miriad of ways more than just with material things. But according to scripture, it pleased him to bless those who served him, and he set up from the beginning of the creation of this world a system of things that were intended to bless.
Incorporated within the ability of any system to be fruitful and multiply, there is a pruning, dying off, and resting process. Seeking blessing at a pace that doesn't incorporate pauses, that doesn't allow for rest and renewal to take place, causes a collapse in the blessing and renewal process. The nutrients and vital resources for anything living will become depleted when greed and excess begin to rule. The God given laws of blessing are therefore ruled by boundaries, within which they properly function. Being a lover of more goes in the opposite direction of seeking blessing. It is important to understand the difference. We can love the process and the joy it brings, can find sustenance and growth within it's boundaries, and flourish even to a point of wealth. But when we do things that take us out side the boundaries, and focus only on the wealth, we begin to fail. It is no longer blessing. And working for even our daily food takes on a nature of burden, and we loose the joy of seeking to be blessed.
In God's hand, is the key to being fruitful, but both man and Satan seek to be greedy and possessive. Sorting that out on a daily basis, is not the easiest thing. And often we find ourselves at the mercy of the greedy. Many times we are in a rest period, awaiting the renewal, or Spring of a cycle of things in our life. We grow impatient waiting on the Lord. We see death as something other than a time of blessing and renewal. And we don't see God's big picture.
At my last job, I even said to someone, that the only reason I worked was for the money to pay the bills. Problem was, my bills were tied up on credit cards. A reverse of blessing for sure. I am at present so glad that God threw a wrench in the cogs of that wheel. I finally, don't feel I am on the treadmill of working to pay the credit card. It was definitely not leading to blessing in my life.
This morning as I think on these things, I am more focused on how God will bless the things in my life. And to do that, he will take what he has given me, and will double it somehow. Even when I learn to reuse something, or give it away to be reused, I am blessed. And no place on earth reminds me of that than in my garden. Even my compost pile, which Jimmy and I are really focusing on this year, is a part of the cycle of blessing. The parts that fall away and die, are reorganized biologically to provide the nutrition and foundation for something new to go through the cycle. And as surely as the sun rises and sets, there will be cycles on this earth that can lead to blessing....or the lack of it. It just depends on which cycle you put your daily energy into nourishing. Give away your blessings, or nurture them.
Father, I see myself in your garden, and listen for you Spirit to show me the proper path to the blessings you have in store. Not out of greed and a desire to have, but a desire to be..a part of your blessing. Make the elements of my last years on earth be ones of fruitfulness and blessing. Double everything according to your timing and grace. Grant me the joy of being within the boundaries of that special place. Knowing you are a God of Blessing. In Christ's name, AMEN
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