This isn’t my lawn, but I wish it was.
Do you have a lawn? Do you take pride in your lawn? I mean in a good way – in a pride of ownership sort of way.
That’s really another way of saying that you take good care of what’s yours. Or, in biblically correct terminology: you are a good steward.
I really appreciate a good lawn.
I drove past a guy the other day who clearly was a lawn guy. He definitely had pride of ownership. Wow, it was beautiful. He was mowing it with absolutely straight lines. It was deep green, thick, and weed-free. I wanted to stop and talk with him to congratulate him on his awesome lawn, but my wife gave me one of those looks and I knew it was best for me to just keep driving.
I certainly appreciate the work of lawn perfectionists. I am not a perfectionist – a term I do not use with any sense of negativity. I appreciate the heart of a perfectionist. I see them as someone who is simply into excellence; who won’t settle for less than the best. Oftentimes people with high standards – who are passionate about excellence – are accused of being perfectionists by those people who do not adhere to their high standards.
My lawn used to be a decent lawn. Not perfect, but decent. I hired a lawn service to do what needed to be done. I would mow it each week and make sure the sprinkler system was watering it consistently and evenly, but the service would fertilize and do all the necessary work to make sure the lawn was lush, green and healthy.
However, I cancelled the service. The lawn looked good so I thought I could take it from there; water and mow and all would be great.
I was wrong.
It’s amazing how badly things can go sideways in one year. My lawn is a disaster: sparse, weeds, moss, thin…embarrassing actually. So, I called the service back in and we are embarking upon the painstaking process of getting my lawn back into shape.
I have realized that to have a consistently great lawn there are a few key ingredients necessary in my lawn care plan: sun, watering, mowing, aerating, dethatching, fertilizing. I slacked off and now I am paying the price.
As I stared despondently at the lawn in my yard, I thought of the lawn of my heart. I can do to my heart what I did to my lawn. Things look good, we’re feeling good about where we are at, and we stop doing that which created our health in the first place. We slack off the key ingredients of a healthy heart plan and the next thing you know, we are weed invested, mossy, thin and patchy.
So what are the key ingredients to ensure the lawn of our heart is lush, thick green and healthy? Truth, prayer, worship, praise, community, serving, and giving are a few key elements in a healthy heart plan. The Truth of God is like fertilizer to our heart – we grow strong in the Truth of God’s Word and we must consume copious amounts on a regular basis. Prayer, worship and praise enables us to connect and commune with God, to be refreshed in His presence, to be filled with His Spirit and have the well-spring of life bubble up inside us, to come alive through the breath of God, have our faith renewed, and be refreshed in His love
Community – doing life with other people – serving, and giving enable us to connect with others, to learn from and grow with each other, to have our weeds identified and removed, to trim our selfish tendencies by loving and being loved by others, to experience the heart of God for us through others, and to demonstrate the heart of God to others through us.
An awesome heart, like an awesome lawn, is only possible if we walk consistently in relationship with God and His Truth, and with each other in the sunshine of God’s love. If you don’t want your heart to begin to look like my lawn, then it’s time to make sure you consistently choose the key ingredients in a healthy heart plan.
May the lawn of our hearts be lush, thick, healthy and a thing of beauty.
John 15:5
“I 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.”
Proverbs 4:23
“Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it.”
Matthew 4:4
“Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.’””
John 7:38
“Whoever believes in me, as Scripture has said, rivers of living water will flow from within them.”