My son David and I have been interacting about a metaphor that is helping both of us. It has to do with firemen and gardeners.
God gives each of us a certain amount of "water" to use during our earthly journies. Your "water" is your time, your energy, your spiritual gifting, your passion . . . all of which you choose how to invest.
Some choose to use their "water" to put out fires. They run from one emergency to another in an anxious state. With a sense of urgency, they dump their "water" on problems. They have a fireman mentality.
Others use their H20 in gardening. They "water" seeds they or others have planted, nurturing life, health, and growth. When used wisely and well, this "water" can bring multiplied glory to Christ as seeds bear fruit . . . which produces more seeds capable of yet more fruit.
Each of us is given so much "water" by God. We can choose to use it like a fireman or like a gardener. When the fireman's day is done, he often stands before ashes, perhaps smoldering embers, possibly only light damage if the flames were doused early enough. Tomorrow his focus is on other fires needing more "water."
When sun sets on the gardener's day, there's life and hope for tomorrow if his "water" has been used well. The recipient of the gardener's work is "a tree . . . which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither. Whatever he does prospers" (Psa 1:3).
Are you a fireman or a gardener?
