A Miniature Flower Garden and Unity

God’s Family and the Variety of Sizes of Zinnias

                In late May, I planted zinnias, from Mother's saved seed packets, in a repurposed black protein tub given to us by Tim Gates. The recycled flower container sits in the tomato bed west of the vintage cellar door.

                Unless we receive rain, I water each evening just before dusk the tomato plants and the flower “pot” garden. Recently, as I watered the flowers with the hose snozzle set on the sprinkler setting, I mused on the varying sizes of the flowers’ diameters.

The Little Container Flower Garden

                One tiny bloom had began barely to emerge with a mere hint of color. the orange-tinted posy measured a little bigger, with all its little petals surrounding its pretty center. Then I noticed the large, magenta zinnia outstanding in the miniature flower garden. Several other colorful, multi-petaled posies stood tall in the circular container.

                As I pulled the hose and continued watering the tomato plants, I recalled an earlier account told in our Bible study of two teenage young men befriended and helped by a seasoned man in our congregation. What a powerful illustration of unity!

                Our Bible study group had studied previously in Paul’s first letter to Timothy, in chapter 5, the need for younger men to respond to older men as fathers and in turn, the older men treat men younger than themselves as sons. The same line of thought was expressed by Paul concerning the behavior of women of all ages toward one another. In our discussion of this study, my mother said, “Bottom-line, respect each other.”

                In the story of the befriending of the teenagers by a man many decades older than them, the venerable man taught useful lessons about lawn careequipment. The Apostle Paul instructed Titus, as a young pastor, to “urge the younger men to be self-controlled.” (Titus 2:6) Then he encouraged this young pastor to “be a model of good works” and to show “integrity, dignity” in his teaching. (Titus 2:7)

                Paul concludes this segment of teaching with verse 8 from chapter 2. Here is how that verse reads from J. B. Phillips’ translation – a favorite translation of my grandfather, Calvin Callcayah Smith.

Your speech should be unaffected and logical, so that your opponent may feel ashamed at finding nothing in which to pick holes.

So many times, multi-generational interactions are fraught with verbal clashes and disagreements. Yet if, in our families, our churches, our society, we follow these Biblical aspects of respect and restraint, we create a pleasing "garden" of multi-age unity.

God inspired Paul to compare the church of Jesus to a body, a building, and a field or garden. Paul said church leaders are faithful workers, not power-hungry oligarchs. The Living Bible gives a verse that captures the connection of the little black container garden and unity. Here is what Paul wrote to the Corinthian believers:

We are only God’s coworkers. You are God’s garden, not ours; you are God's building, not ours. (I Corinthians 3:9)

Lord, help our striving for unity be driven by our commitment to You. May the unity in our families, our churches, and our society be a testimony revealing our deep-seated love for You with the deepest desire for that unity to draw the disillusioned, disappointed and disenfranchised to a relationship with You and with us, for Your glory.
Afterword
The very morning after I completed this blog posting, as I inspected the tomato plants, I noticed a pretty zinnia stretching itself over the rim of the container. It was the only one not standing erect in the black flower pot. As I snapped the photo below, I recalled I Corinthians 12. Paul discussed the varieties of gifts, service, and activities. Yet he declared the same Holy Spirit, the same Lord Jesus, and the same God empowered those who have received Him to bring glory and honor to Him alone.

    

      I was struck by the lovely zinnia sticking

                 its gorgeous head out of the pot instead of
                   standing regally in the  cluster with the others.
               It seemed such a powerful picture of the
                    variety that Paul, inspired by the Holy Spirit,
                wrote of in the church. There are so many
               varieties of us who follow Jesus, seeking
              to see His Will done on earth as it is
                    in heaven.