Every spring ENan and I go on the hunt for new hanging baskets to place on our porches and to hang on poles around our yard. We search the usual places where people buy floral type things – Lowes, Home Depot, Piggly Wiggly. This year, however, we heard that a small, family-owned produce stand outside of Wallace had some beautiful flowers. We jumped in the truck and headed out to see for ourselves.
The reports were not exaggerated. The owner of the produce stand had two greenhouses full of the most beautiful baskets I have ever seen. After wandering through the multi-colored offerings, we selected three of our favorites. As we were paying the woman who had carefully nursed these flowers all winter, I asked how she got them so full of blooms. Her response was, “I fertilize them every day.”
I have always wondered why the flowers we purchase in April look scrawny and dull by Mother’s Day. I now know that it is because we have not been fertilizing them. I might put a little Miracle-Grow in the watering can once a month, but I never knew what daily feeding can do to a plant. Now I know.
Of course, there is a spiritual application here as well. Many believers think they can remain spiritually healthy by attending church once a month. We figure a few minutes of Christian radio in between should be enough to make us thrive. We are confused when our lives fail to produce the fruit of the spirit – love, joy, peace, goodness, kindness, patience, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. (Galatians 5:22-23) We wonder why we feel stretched out in many directions but not feeling satisfied in any of them.
There are several spiritual disciplines that contribute to our spiritual health, such as worship, fellowship and prayer. However, the Bible is the bread of life for us. It is the essential element in any spiritual diet. We can receive the Word of God in devotional books, sermons, podcasts, or a multitude of forms. However we get it, our souls need a daily feeding of God’s Word.
If you are not experiencing abundant fruit in your spiritual life, ask yourself, “Have I fed my soul today?”
-Dr. Jim Baldwin
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