Plant, Water, Grow...

Hi friends,

My gardening skills are pretty rubbish, I have to be honest! I have a habit of forgetting to water plants and I don't have any interest in digging, weeding, planting or pruning. I like the idea of a garden, but not the work required to produce a decent one! But here's the thing - even if I planted carefully and watered diligently, the actual growth that happens when a seed becomes a flower or fruit cannot be attributed to me - it is the creative power of God in operation.

The same is true of spiritual fruit and growth. We have a responsibility to plant and water. That means preaching the gospel and teaching truth from the Word of God and praying for people and demonstrating God's love through acts of generosity and kindness. We have been given a variety of gifts that God uses to plant seeds and water those already planted. But even when we do those things and use our gifts for God's purposes, we cannot claim credit for any growth that happens. That is a miracle of God's creative power at work by the Holy Spirit. The apostle Paul realised this and urged the Corinthians not to attach special significance to him or Apollos or anyone else. He realised that they were simply servants who planted and watered at God's direction, but it was God who caused the seed to grow. Our allegiance is only to God, not to humans, no matter what role they may have played in our birth and growth in Christ. We can be grateful to those who plant and water, but only Jesus is worthy of our devotion as our Lord.

I used the paper piercing technique on this page, stamping the images from Pretty Potted Florals onto a variety of patterned paper then cutting out the flowers and pots and gluing them over the same images that I had stamped on the page. I coloured the leaves and stems with coloured pencils. The verse was stamped with a combination of Print Blocks Alpha, Bitty Minnie Alpha and Trust in the Lord. Here are the sets I used:

Let's plant and water in the ways we have been gifted to do, but let's not take the credit for any growth that may happen - that's all down to the grace and power of God, and for that he deserves our praise!

Be blessed...
x Amy x