March 4, 2023

Several weeks ago, I planted asparagus. I followed the directions on the package, and they began coming up. As they grew, I realized that what I had purchased may not be enough to enjoy with a meal, so yesterday, I bought more. When you open the package, they look dead. Following the directions, I soaked them in compost tea to boost them before planting. I dug a trench 6” deep, carefully spreading out the roots, covered them with 3” of soil, and watered them in. When they peak out of the ground, I cover them with three more inches of dirt. The package said the roots were two years old, so they weren’t to be eaten until they were three. It took everything in me not to pop off their little heads and eat them immediately.

The asparagus roots are similar to what we were before we accepted Jesus as our Savior, dormant with the look of death. We received baptism, a symbol of death, and came up from the water with a new life, like my asparagus soaking in compost tea before planting. Then we are planted in the soil, like attending church, studying our Bible, and learning biblical truths. Then, just as we think we are ready to take on the world, God plants us deeper. The enemy is there waiting for us to pop our heads out so he can eat us alive, but God makes him wait until we are more robust and can engage in the battle against evil. The war is fierce, and every available soldier needs to engage the enemy now. We need to plant more roots to have fresh recruits, so keep telling others about Jesus’s free gift.

But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves of God, the fruit you get leads to sanctification and its end, eternal life. For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. Romans 6:22-23