By Melissa McLaughlin
New Growth
Spring brings a variety of sweet memories from my past and heartwarming feelings of anticipation in the present. A fond memory from my childhood is that of my father starting seeds indoors in early spring. Sometimes in egg cartons, sometimes in small peat pots. The seeds would be carefully buried under the soil, given just enough water to provide proper moisture, covered with plastic wrap and sealed with tape or a rubber band. This kept the moisture in until the seeds sprouted. The newly planted seeds would then be placed in a sunny window. Each morning my dad would take a quick peek at his seeds to see if there were signs of new life yet. Even the tiniest glimmer of green bursting forth was cause for rejoicing! One of life’s sweetest and simplest delights is the excitement of checking for new life rising up from under the earth.
Soon after the seeds sprouted, the plastic wrap was removed to allow for rapid growth. Now the young shoots had to be watered regularly to maintain accurate moisture levels. As soon as the temperatures were consistently warm enough the sprouts were transplanted outside in the ground in neat rows in my father’s recently tilled garden soil. Each summer we enjoyed and still do enjoy the most delicious and bountiful harvest from my dad’s garden. Juicy red tomatoes, sugary sweet corn, crisp crunchy cucumbers, creamy smooth potatoes, tender young peas, flavorful green beans and more! I was spoiled by these fresh-from-the-garden treats! So much so, that now I find it difficult to buy grocery store fruits and veggies after having been raised on such luxuries. Truly God’s homegrown provisions are sweetest.
Spiritual Growth
Similarly, as Christians we are transformed from the seed of faith, to new sprouts, to seedlings, to developing plants to fruit-bearing plantings for the Lord. Once we believe in Jesus, our lives are transformed from a spiritually lifeless form to a vibrant growing follower of Him who makes all things new! They will be called oaks of righteousness, a planting of the Lord for the display of his splendor. Isaiah 61:3b
However, one question that plagued me for some time, was that of sin in the life of a Christian. I knew that once I believed in Jesus as my Savior and asked Him to be the Lord of my life, the Bible clearly states that I am forgiven of all my sins. And that’s great news! But why do I find myself still falling into sin or sometimes flat out choosing sin? Isn’t the battle with sin over and done with?
When we first become a believer and follower of Jesus, we are saved from our sins, fully forgiven for all sins past, present and future. This is the gift of salvation! Salvation means we are set free from the penalty of sin. By choosing Jesus as our Savior, we admit we are sinners who are deserving of God’s punishment but by the grace of God we are saved through faith in the finished work of Jesus Christ on the cross. Jesus extends incredible grace and mercy to us by paying the penalty for our sins with His own life. We are rescued from hell and are assured a place in heaven. For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast. Ephesians 2:8-9
This moment of salvation is when the seed of faith is planted within us.
The seed of faith in Christ guarantees and secures our final destination. For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. John 3:16
Salvation to Sanctification
What peace and joy knowing we are heaven-bound, not by our efforts, but by faith in Christ alone! What a gift! Yet, as we rest in this eternal peace, our response to this amazing gift changes everything. The way we know that our faith in Christ is genuine is that it grows, just like any other living and growing thing. Our faith must sprout, shoot up, grow and gain strength. Once we confess Jesus as our Lord and Savior and believe in Him, He sends His Holy Spirit to live in our hearts. Through the power of the Holy Spirit, we can now overcome the power of sin in our lives, little by little, day by day. This marvelous process of transformation is called sanctification, as we steadily, over time, begin to look, talk, think and act more and more like Jesus.
Even as devoted Christians we still miss the mark, stumble into sin and sometimes willfully choose to sin. When we do fall short, the Bible instructs us in this. If we confess our sins and He is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 1 John 1:9 As we turn to Him, confess our sin and repent by acknowledging to God that He is right and we are wrong, He will help us choose His ways over our sin-filled self-centered ways.
Ask the Holy Spirit to convict you when you are out of line with God’s Word or God’s will. Ask the Holy Spirit to give you a humble and repentant heart. Ask the Holy Spirit to show you the way to escape any temptations. Ask the Holy Spirit to help you find an accountability mentor and partner. A trustworthy Christian who is willing to listen, celebrate your successes and pray with you when you fall down. Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective. James 5:16
As you surrender your will to God’s will, day by day, the power of sin will dissipate. Make no mistake about it, the power of sin is real, but the power of the Holy Spirit of our resurrected Jesus is stronger still. Nevertheless, the believer in Jesus must surrender daily, move away from sin and toward God through Bible reading, prayer and connection with other Christians in order to overcome. We are stronger together than we are alone. In the same way, count yourselves dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus. Romans 6:11
With the help of the Holy Spirit at work in our hearts and minds, as we surrender more and more of our thoughts, time and lives to the Lord, we slowly grow in holiness, replacing our sinful ways with Godly traits and Spirit-filled qualities we cannot develop on our own. Incredibly, we begin to display the Fruit of the Spirit instead of our “go-to self-serving” instincts. These beautiful Christlike traits include: love, joy, peace patience, kindness, gentleness, faithfulness, goodness, self-control. Just saying these words aloud brings me joy!
God never says we will not be tempted in this life. God knows we will not be completely free from the presence of sin until we are in heaven and are no longer part of this broken sin-fallen world. For this reason, when Jesus taught His disciples the Lord’s Prayer in Matthew 6, He made provisions for us to confess ongoing sin until that day.
Glorification
When we finally reach heaven, only then will we be completely free of the presence of sin. What a day of rejoicing that will be! This has come to be known as glorification. When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with him in glory. Colossians 3:4
The fruit of our faith will then be made fully known, as once we are in heaven, the Lord will reward us for our righteous deeds.
Like the seeds my father plants every spring, we look nothing like we did when the seed of faith in Christ was first planted in our hearts. Much like the watermelon seed looks nothing like the final fruit it bears. The seed contains elements needed to become something else entirely, full of God-created, God-given life. As that seed of faith sprouts, grows and develops, it will have to withstand days of too much rain, too much sun, insects and birds, heavy winds and countless other obstacles in order to reach full maturity and produce fruit. The growing season is not easy, much like the purification or sanctification process is not easy for us. However, once the fruit is fully grown, it offers nourishment and contains the seeds of life for other new plants to begin. One day, when we are in heaven, the spiritual fruit we have produced on this earth will be rewarded by the One who created us and placed the seed of faith in our hearts. Behold, I am coming soon! My reward is with me, and I will give to each person according to what they have done. Revelation 22:12
The Power of Sin is Broken – Past, Present and Future!
What a joy to know that when we confess Jesus as our Savior and Lord we are forgiven of our sins past, present and future!
1.Through the gift of Salvation we are forgiven the penalty of our sins.
2.Through the process of Sanctification we are set free from the power of our sins.
3.Finally, we look forward to that day when we will revel in the gift of Glorification, being set free from the presence of all sin, as we rest in heaven, in Christ’s complete perfection, goodness and holiness and share in His glory, face to face! The presence of all sin will be completely removed. Oh what a day that will be!
What a good, good Heavenly Father! He created us. He gave us His laws of righteousness so we would know right from wrong. He sent His own Son, Jesus, to fulfill those laws of righteousness because we could not. He sent His Holy Spirit to live in the hearts of those who believe, to be transformed into His likeness and reflect His glory. And now He has gone on ahead to prepare a place for us in heaven. My Father’s house has many rooms; if that were not so, would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am. You know the way to the place where I am going. John 14:2-4
May we rejoice again today! The power of sin is broken! Past, present and future! Jesus has done it all! May we rest in His amazing grace today, tomorrow and always!
Photos courtesy of Pixabay.
Additional Resources
The Healing Power of Forgiven Sin By Greg Morse at Desiring God
What hope and freedom we have in Christ! Thank you for this encouraging post!
Amazing grace, how sweet the sound! Thank you for reading, Valerie, and joining me in this celebration of our freedom in Christ! Most wonderful gift ever given!
Thank you my beautiful little sprout! You are growing into a wonderful and mighty plant for the glory of God!
Why thank you, my beautiful sprouting sister! Your faith is shooting up like a strong plant in spring! Glory to God, the giver of all life!
I’m picturing us as two adorably cute, little baby sprouts shooting up towards the heavens! Cuz who doesn’t love cute little babies?
Yes, yes! Growing strong, growing on! May we keep reaching higher and higher for Christ Jesus our Lord! For He is worthy! Bless you, my dear sister in Christ!
I love you and your spirit!
Dear Melissa, it is always a blessing to read how the Lord is writing the truths of His Word upon your heart. This reminds me of Peter’s words encouraging the Jewish Christians as they waited for the fulfillment of Christ’s second coming: “Grow in grace and knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.”
This continues to beat its fruit and for eternity with Him. Blessings. 🙂
Dear Fran, I thank God for you, for your faith, your writing and your kind support! May we have an insatiable hunger to grow closer to know Him, to love Him and to live for Him more. Remembering and resting in the many facets of His forgiveness, is a truth I need to revisit daily. Blessings to you!
Beautiful and powerful analogy, Melissa. You are simply the best at taking Scripture and showing how to practically apply it to our daily lives and spiritual walks. This picture of planting and sprouting seeds, developing plants, AND the fruit-bearing Christians we are called to be.
Love this, “This moment of salvation is when the seed of faith is planted within us.” Amen! And thank goodness the power of sin no longer has power over us! We will fail and sin, but it no longer reigns in our body if we let Jesus reign in our heart!
Thank you, Karen, for the kind words of encouragement! May Jesus continue to be praised and honored in as many ways as He gives us! Your comment: We will fail and sin, but it no longer reigns in our body if we let Jesus reign in our heart! Wow. May this truth strengthen us body, mind and spirit!
Melissa, I remember planting seeds in the small pockets of an egg carton and eagerly waiting to see the first sign of a sprout. It is always hard to believe that from a small seed they grow and eventually produce fruits and vegetables. And from small seeds mighty oaks are started! “They will be called oaks of righteousness, a planting of the Lord for the display of his splendor.” (Isaiah 61:3b) I always marvel in the idea that in order for growth to occur – the hard outer shell of the seed must be broken open so the little green shoot can start to grow. And with water and tender care, fruit can be produced. What a beautiful metaphor for our faith!
Anne, thank you for sharing your experiences and insights! When I pause to think about a seed, it is truly incredible that from each tiny thing, something great, unique and beautiful will grow! If you ponder just this one part of God’s creation, for me it speaks undeniably of a great and mighty Creator, so far beyond us. I love your reflection about having to break through the outer shell of the seed cover. How is this even possible? That little delicate green shoot breaking through something hard as wood? I agree, this is a great metaphor for our faith! Bless you!
Feeling washed by the blood, sister. Thank you for this post. May God continue to wield your pen as faith-building armor. Peace to you, Julie
Hallelujah! We are washed in His pure, holy, gracious blood! Praying we can continue to press on toward the prize, our Lord and Savior, and help one another keep the pace steady and strong. Bless you, dear Julie!
What a beautiful explanation of the freedom from sin that we find in Christ!
As a young child, my grandmother planted seeds just as your father did. As a result, we enjoyed the freshest of vegetables.
What stood out to me in your post was the comment you made “I was spoiled by these fresh-from-the-garden treats! So much so, that now I find it difficult to buy grocery store fruits and veggies after having been raised on such luxuries. Truly God’s homegrown provisions are sweetest.”
Sin tempts us with the promise of a new and exciting life, but it turns out to be like the store bought veggies we buy. But in God’s kingdom, and with salvation in Jesus we taste what is sweet and better than what sin presents. It’s hard to want to go back after we have tasted the goodness of the Lord; thankful that when we do return to our sin from time to time, God’s precious love and forgiveness draws us back.
Wow! Marcie, your reflections are so powerful. I wish I had thought to include this part of the analogy in the post. You should write a post about this very thing! After tasting the goodness of the Lord, when we slip back into sin, it truly does taste like grocery store vegetables. Oh Lord, draw us ever closer, that our greatest appetite is for the goodness of Your Word, Your Son and Your Spirit! Bless you, Marcie!
Truth!
Thank you, Lord Jesus! For He is our way, our truth and our life!
Love your explanation! So glad for the gift of sanctification! I’m a work-in-progress girl who is getting better a little each day!
I’m with you there, Julie! I’m thankful for every aspect of Jesus’ forgiveness and cleansing. May we radiate more and more of His image as we are sanctified day by day. What a gift!
You made me remember my own salvation. You said, “Ask the Holy Spirit to convict you when you are out of line with God’s Word or God’s will. Ask the Holy Spirit to give you a humble and repentant heart. Ask the Holy Spirit to show you the way to escape any temptations.”
These are prayers our great God will answer! It hurts a little though.
Thanks for the remembrances from when the Lord first showed me how bad my sin was and even up to well, yesterday!
Dear Beth, thank you for sharing your reflections and experiences. I agree with you, God will definitely answer these prayers! He is ready and waiting for us to turn to Him in spirit and in truth. Like you, when God has answered these prayers in my life, I have felt the sting of my own sin, pride and self-idols when God exposes the sin of my heart little by little. As you say…even up to yesterday! May we yield more and more to Him!
I love this encouragement! It’s so beautiful to see our growth in Christ tie in so perfectly with the growth evident all around us in spring. Thank you!
It truly is an encouragement, Jessica, to bring back to mind all that God has done in order to welcome us into His family! May we grow more like Jesus, out of unending gratitude! Bless you!
I can’t wait for the day when we will no longer have to fight against our sin! I love your analogy and the reminder that we can confess our sins and God is faithful to forgive. No matter how hard we have to fight, the Holy Spirit is on our side and fights for us, too. I love that encouragement!
Oh Emily, I’m with you! Imagine when the presence of all sin is gone! It will be so beautiful, holy and good. May we yield more and more of our will to the Holy Spirit, that we may be refined into pure gold as the day approaches!
This post is so timely as we have just planted some seeds in small pots. It is a joy to watch things grow with the right soil, sun, and water. Thankful that our Heavenly Father provides all we need to grow.
He is a good, good Father! Sometimes we get so busy just keeping on keeping on, that we forget all that God has done to break the power of sin in our lives. What grace! What amazing grace! New life, new fruit, new hope! Enjoy your spring plantings!
From seed to sprout to fruit. Love it! God bless!
Thank you for the kind words of encouragement, Nancy. May we grow such great fruit of the Spirit that it squashes out the weeds of sin! Blessings to you!
Such a great word. I recall my dad starting little seedlings too. We had such great gardens in VA where I grew up. The dirt was rich and there was usually plenty of water. Every thing was so delicious.
When Kathy and I moved to AZ I thought it would be great (and simple) to have a garden. It was a lesson in learning about poor soil, little rain, and too much sun. Our little green beans grew up about 4″ and were choked by the soil which was like concrete. Just like our spiritual life– it takes the right environment to grow.
Thanks for writing such a clear and helpful message about having life in Christ.
Great analogy, Bruce! Thank you for reading and sharing your experiences and insights. We do need to seek out the conditions which will help us grow strong in the Lord. I cannot imagine the difference between growing things in VA vs. AZ! My husband and I visited AZ for our 20th anniversary, to see the Grand Canyon and other sights. It was breathtakingly beautiful, but so very different from the lush greenery here in the east. I guess you may need to switch from green beans to pear cactus for your harvest! Bless you!
Fantastic post and happy Easter Melissa 😊🔆ðŸ™
Happy Easter to you, Cherryl! Glory to God in the highest! All praise goes to Him for any way He is able to use us. Thank you for reading and offering an encouraging word!
Very inspiring post Melissa. Blessings
Thank you, Sam. Glory to God! He has done it all! May you rest in His powerful love this day.
Amen. Melissa God bless You