A friend recently posted a little story on Facebook that really caught my attention. I commented, “There’s a spiritual analogy in here somewhere…I need to think about this!”

I’ve noticed that as followers of Jesus, pretty much everything that happens in our lives points us back to our Creator. After all, everything we see—and all that we are—reflects Him. We are His workmanship (Ephesians 2:10).

Here is what my friend posted:

So this morning I was noticing this very healthy green leaf plant mixed in with my ranunculus. It has started taking over one of the raised beds. When I went to pull it up, it was potatoes. Tiny! Attached to scrap potatoes that I composted weeks ago. I am obviously still learning about composting in the flower beds! It was pretty cool but has totally shaded out the beautiful ranunculus. Life…I am amazed every single day! 

Immediately, Jesus’ parable about the wheat and the tares came to mind (Matthew 13:24-30). Illustrating the kingdom of God, Jesus reminds us that in His kingdom, there are people who appear to be followers but are not. We do not have the wisdom or the right to tear them down or “rip them out” of our community. Only God can see what is really in a man’s heart. Instead, we are to wait for God to reveal the truth—whether in this life or at the final judgment. If we judge according to our human wisdom, we risk destroying the faith of those who do belong to God.

There’s a lot more to unpack in that parable, but let’s look at our little potato leaves in a different way.

My friend had no idea that what was in her compost could potentially grow and almost overtake her beautiful ranunculus flowers. She planted and watered what she wanted to grow, but deep in the soil, something else took root. She didn’t realize that while she was tending her flowers, she was inadvertently nourishing and encouraging those potatoes to grow!

I think the gospel is like those potatoes!

Have you or someone you know created a life that appears beautiful- bright and showy- but only lasts for a short season before fading away, leaving you searching for something to replace it?  Flowers are beautiful (and bring much joy)—and I’m not discounting their value here—just making an analogy. While they are visually appealing, they lack any nutritional value. They can’t sustain your life; they can only adorn it.

But potatoes—while they might not look like much—can literally keep you alive!

How many people have “buried” the seeds of the gospel they were given as a child? So many have thrown out what they were taught, literally considering it garbage—discarding the truth of God’s Word like so much compost, never thinking to consider it again.

But here’s the beauty of the gospel: when you least expect it, those words of life that someone planted in the soil of your heart will take root. The trials of life will water it; the disappointments and failures will fertilize it. Suddenly, the sunshine of the Spirit of God will bring it to life. If you allow it to continue to grow, it will spread, developing into something far more valuable than the temporary flash of color the world offers you.

Obviously, I’m not recommending my friend let the potato vines take over her flower business. But I would strongly recommend that if God has stirred up the gospel in your heart and life, you consider that maybe what you’ve been building as a life can’t compare. Perhaps you need to pull out the superficial, temporary things and let the roots of the gospel take over.

1 Corinthians 3:6-7,9 – I planted, Apollos watered, but God was causing the growth. So then neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but God who causes the growth. For we are God’s fellow workers; you are God’s field, God’s building.

Matthew 13:18-23 – Hear then the parable of the sower. When anyone hears the word of the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what has been sown in his heart. This is the one on whom seed was sown beside the road. The one on whom seed was sown on the rocky places, this is the man who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy; yet he has no firm root in himself, but is only temporary, and when affliction or persecution arises because of the word, immediately he falls away. And the one on whom seed was sown among the thorns, this is the man who hears the word, and the worry of the world and the deceitfulness of wealth choke the word, and it becomes unfruitful. And the one on whom seed was sown on the good soil, this is the man who hears the word and understands it; who indeed bears fruit and brings forth, some a hundredfold, some sixty, and some thirty.

John 10:10 – The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly.