READ: JOHN 15:1-17; GALATIANS 5:22-23

When I was growing up, my family always had a garden. I would help plant the tiny seeds, water them, and tear out the weeds that grew around them. I became so used to watching the little plants pop out of the ground year after year, and then grow until they were large enough to produce all kinds of delicious vegetables, that I became almost numb to it. What was the big deal?

But now when I think about how a tiny seed goes into the ground one day, and then just weeks later there’s a plant large enough to produce food for me to eat, it’s pretty amazing.

God’s creation is captivating. He created all the vegetables and fruits with their unique seeds, unique ways of growing, and unique flavors. Potatoes and carrots grow under the ground, tomatoes grow on vines, and cobs of corn grow on tall stalks. It’s fascinating to witness all these things come to be. God put so much care into each of them, just as He did you and me.

God never made any mistakes in His world. God made each plant unique. In a well-tended garden, these plants grow from tiny seeds to large, vegetable-producing plants. Isn’t it awesome that God put just as much care into you and me, and He wants to help us grow too? God created each of us to be unique, like all the many varieties of plants we find in a garden. He created us to grow and bear fruit, and He tends us like a careful gardener.

But, on our own, we can’t make ourselves grow spiritually. In John 15, Jesus said, “If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing” (verse 5). Once we’ve put our trust in Jesus, His Holy Spirit lives in us, helping us mature in our faith and producing good fruit in our lives—the fruit of “love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control” (Galatians 5:22-23).

It was amazing to see the garden I had growing up, and it’s also amazing to see how God can help me and work in me. I am so grateful to Him for all He does for me and how He helps me grow. • Bethany Acker

• Have you ever taken time to marvel at how such small seeds grow into large plants that produce food for us? How could it be encouraging to remember that the same God who designed the plants to be unique and to grow and produce fruit is also the one who designed us, and He wants to patiently help us grow and bear the fruit of righteousness? (Philippians 1:11)

“I [Jesus] am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.” John 15:5 (NIV)