The World Is My Garden

I good friend of mine, Don Lokey died and I did his funeral.  Sometimes when you are close to someone, is easier to give the message.  All I knew is I wanted to give God's message so I prayed and waited and prayed some more.  The day before the funeral, early in the morning, the message came flooding in like a wave.  I heard in my spirit these words, "The world is my garden."  As quickly as I heard these words then a scripture came to mind, the last half of Psalm 65 which speaks of God's care and renewal of garden earth.

The last day of Don's life he spent in his garden.  I was considering looking for a poem on this image of garden but it was so late and I went to the funeral visitation.  The front of every bulletin has the twenty third Psalm.  This is the first time in almost two decades that the front had a poem called "God's Garden."  I was also handed that day three letters from Don's daughters to read and the last one ended with words about seeing Don some day in his heavenly garden.  Are you starting to see a pattern yet?  I also discovered that there was an assortment of special music and the last song chosen was the song "In the Garden."

I was amazed at the unity and beauty of the whole service which like a masterpiece of art all flowed together.  Now I am working through a sermon series through the book of Daniel and I am studying the ninth chapter of Daniel.  As I am working and praying my way through this chapter and book, there are two thoughts that press in on my mind on how God builds faith and trust.  God does it through extravagant love and extravagant suffering.  I got a last minute phone call to help at the local food pantry and I got to put into action some of this by helping others in their suffering.

There is a little book I picked up earlier this year called "Living with Mystery."  I started the book, set it down and never picked it up again.  It caught my attention today so I picked it up and it was marked on a chapter about the cross of Christ and suffering.  As I was reading, I thought about the funeral I did today and Don's life how his life ended abruptly from cancer, I ran right into these words:

I have entered the garden gate.  But this is not a garden of fragrant roses, singing birds, and sunlight and dew-covered grass.  This is the garden of darkness, a garden of finitude, a garden of turmoil---the garden that Jesus entered.  It is the garden of humanness, of abandonment, and tears.  No rays of sunlight shimmer through the trees.  No blossoms open their faces to the sun.  No birds serenade Him.  Rather, in this garden, only the way of the cross beckons Him.  And in this dark garden, He waits for me (p.93).

The enemy of our soul tempts us to believe that suffering is bad or evil and should be avoided at all costs.  But its suffering like Jesus in Gethsemane that releases us into perfection with Christ in the garden of paradise.  When we have the marks of Christ's suffering, then we are like the man who trusts in the Lord that the prophet Jeremiah describes:

Blesses is the man who trusts in the Lord and whose trust is the Lord.  For he will be like a tree planted by the water, that extends its roots by a stream and will not fear when the heat comes.  But its leaves will be green, and it will not be anxious in a year of drought nor cease to yield fruit (17:7-8).