“I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener.” —Jesus (John 15:1)
Jesus = Vine (life-source)
Father = Gardener
You know what I’ve also found so fascinating? First, God creates humans and puts them in a garden (Genesis 1). Humans break away from “garden life” and decide we want to decide “right and wrong” for ourselves, thank you very much. (Tree of the knowledge of good and evil.) That decision is accompanied by an awareness of our own nakedness and frailty. (Turns out we’re not God.) We feel “shame” and habitually resist God’s presence—to this day.
But when Jesus raises from dead, His disciples that came looking for an empty tomb mistake Jesus for… wait for it… A GARDENER!
It’s almost like a reset… restart… something new is being born / grown / cultivated.
At that point—seeing a resurrected Jesus—I’m sure the disciples remembered the above statement: “My Father is the gardener.”
Some people grow up thinking God is a police officer in the sky, looking to punish them. Or, that He’s indifferent and disconnected. On the contrary… He’s still cultivating… managing… planting… growing… all the time.
I wonder what’s just below the surface of the soil in your life, right now.