Tuesday, April 16, 2013

Jesus Spotted at the UALC Community Garden


No, you haven’t missed the second coming, but there are signs His real presence at the garden on the Mill Run campus.

God has turned very little into a whole lot.  10 or 15 pounds of seeds were turned into into 39,000 pound of fresh vegetables over the last five years. More than 17,000  Lbs.  of those were grown last year alone—in spite of a draught.  That looks lot like Jesus. See Matthew 14:13-21.

Folks shunned by society have been blessed. Most of those vegetables fed the homeless and hard-pressed.  Some supported Doma's freedom ala cart, a ministry that helps women escape prostitution by training them in a catering buisness. Others were used to build relationships with immigrants served by the English for Speakers of Other Languages  program. That sounds a lot like Jesus.  See Matthew 9:10-13 and 25:34-40 .

We regularly see great outbursts of beauty.  Plain old dirt transfigures into radiant collections of plants three times a year. That also sounds like Jesus.  See Luke 9:29 .

Most important, people are getting to know God and communities are growing. Children from this and other churches are learning about God at the garden. His word is being spread there through Bible studies and the prayer path.  A community of believers has grown along with the garden and its work.  That community has even been connected with similarly tasked believers on the other side of the world!  All that looks a lot like the way Jesus described the Kingdom. See  Matthew 13:31-33, Mark 9:36-37,  Luke 8: 4-8, 11-15, and John 10:16 .

So what do we do with that?  We can’t ignore Jesus when he shows up in our own back yard. There are several things:
-                 Come to Him. Come pray in the garden any time. There are Bibles in the plastic bins under the benches at each end of the garden. Or pray for the garden and those it serves from home.

-                  Work with Him. We have work sessions every Saturday Morning, from 9:00 AM until noon. Come when you can and stay as long as you are able. We have all the tools you’ll need and you’ll meet some very friendly folks.

-                 Get to know Him better. We have short Bible studies at the garden every Saturday around 10:30 AM. There are also garden themed studies at http://ualcgarden.blogspot.com/2013/04/garden-themed-bible-studies.html

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