{"id":1870,"date":"2016-06-01T13:41:42","date_gmt":"2016-06-01T13:41:42","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.theprodigalpig.com\/?p=1870"},"modified":"2016-05-31T19:52:00","modified_gmt":"2016-05-31T19:52:00","slug":"humble-gardener","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.theprodigalpig.com\/?p=1870","title":{"rendered":"Humble Gardener"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"05-21-16<\/a><\/p>\n

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Me:\u00a0 Prodigal, Thank you for inviting me over to you garden!\u00a0 It is really nice!<\/p>\n

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Prodigal:\u00a0 I am serious about my gardening, I am a farmer pig after all!\u00a0 I love to grow flowers and vegetables.\u00a0 Since you have been so caring to me, I wanted to give you some of these carrots.<\/p>\n

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Me:\u00a0 Thank you Prodigal, I know that this is a gift from the heart.\u00a0 I want to share about another gardener just like you.<\/p>\n

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Tim Chester shares this in his book You Can Change<\/p>\n

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The great nineteenth-century preacher Charles Spurgeon illustrates this point with the story of a humble gardener who presents a bunch of carrots to his king because he so esteems and loves his sovereign.\u00a0 The king rewards his love with a plot of land so he can continue to bless his kingdom.\u00a0 A courtier sees this and thinks, “An acre of land for a bunch of carrots–what a deal!”\u00a0 So the next day the courtier presents the king with a magnificent horse.\u00a0 The wise king, discerning his heart, simply accepts the gift with a “thank you.”\u00a0 When the courtier is disconsolate, the king explains, “The gardener gave me the carrots, but you have given yourself the horse.\u00a0 You gave not for love of me but for love of yourself in the hope of a reward.”\u00a0 Are you feeding the hungry or are you feeding yourself?\u00a0 asks Spurgeon.\u00a0 Are you clothing the naked or are you seeking your own reward?\u00a0 Are you serving God or serving yourself?\u00a0 The Bible talks often of reward, but that reward is God himself–the joy of knowing and pleasing the God we love and in whom we delight.<\/strong><\/p>\n

We don’t change so we can prove ourselves to God.\u00a0 We’re accepted by God so we can change.\u00a0 God gives us a new identity, and this new identity is the motive and basis for change.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Ephesians 5:1-2<\/p>\n

Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children.\u00a0 And walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.<\/p>\n

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Jennifer Van Allen<\/p>\n

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www.theprodigalpig.com<\/p>\n

www.faithincounseling.org<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

            Me:\u00a0 Prodigal, Thank you for inviting me over to you garden!\u00a0 It is really nice!   Prodigal:\u00a0 I am serious about my gardening, I am a farmer pig after all!\u00a0 I love to grow flowers and vegetables.\u00a0 Since you have been so caring to me, I wanted to give … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1870","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\nHumble Gardener - The Prodigal Pig<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"http:\/\/www.theprodigalpig.com\/?p=1870\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Humble Gardener - 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