PARABLE OF THE PLANT LADY

“The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.” (John 10:10)

This past Sunday afternoon as I took an afternoon walk along Concord Street (one of the main streets in Framingham, Massachusetts) I observed a strange sight. There was an older woman, who appeared to be poor or homeless, digging in some large planters that belong to a local business. The older woman was carrying a white plastic bag and was placing things she’d dug out of the planters into the plastic bag. I couldn’t help but assume she was stealing flowers and plants from the planters!

As I walked by her, I saw her pull up an attractive red flower and its roots and toss it into the bag. (Please don’t ask me what kind of flower it was, or what kind of flowers or plants are growing in the planters. I am very ignorant when it comes to plants and flowers!) I know it’s not polite to stare, but as I passed her I turned around and I stared! I could feel a grin erupting on my face as I directly asked, “Are you STEALING flowers from those pots?”

“YES I AM STEALING THEM!” she answered quickly and boldly.

She then walked up to where I was standing, carrying the white plastic bag filled with flowers and plants she’d dug out of the planters. I’m not sure how old this woman was. With her tanned and weathered skin and her mouth missing many teeth, she really LOOKED homeless, although she explained that she lives nearby.

“They DON’T get watered!” she exclaimed, and then passionately added, “They’ll die if I don’t take care of them.”

The woman told me she regularly takes flowers and plants from the large planters. She brings them home and puts them in pots; feeds, waters and cares for them. When the plants are healthier, she returns them to the big planters....then she looks for the sickliest plants in the planters, digs them up, takes them home, and repeats the cycle.

“I just love plants,” she said, adding, “I’ve always loved plants.”

I realized how wrong I’d been about this woman. Smiling, I said to her,
”You’re not STEALING them, you’re MOTHERING them. You’re doing a GOOD thing.”

She and her plastic bag crossed the street, and I suddenly felt that the Holy Spirit was trying to impress something to me: In Christian evangelism, so many love to “win souls”...to “add notches to their spiritual belts” as some have said. Now there’s nothing wrong with winning souls for Christ. In fact, it’s a very good thing! Proverbs 11:30 says, “The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life; and he that winneth souls is wise.”

But these newly won souls need WATER and need care! Ephesians 5:26 says, “That he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word,”. Hebrews 10:22 says, “Let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience, and our bodies washed with pure water.” There are all sorts of other Bible verses which teach the importance of caring for “baby Christians” such as I Peter 2:1 2 , “as newborn babes, desire the sincere milk of the word, that ye may grow thereby:”

It’s sad that the local business is not watering its plants and flowers and doesn’t seem to understand the importance of doing that. The Plant Lady is resorting to a pretty unorthodox method of caring for those flowers and plants to make sure they survive. How many sincere Christians have tried to disciple immature Christians in their Bible Studies or one-on-one discipleship (or whatever) only to be branded as “sheep stealers” and disloyal to “Such and Such Church” where the immature Christians are attending? In probably more cases that any of us would care to admit, there have been those unorthodox Christian disciplers who have SEEMINGLY “stolen” believers from churches only to send them back there a few weeks later in a far more spiritually healthy condition, and then they’ve begun the process all over again with some other immature Christian. Like The Plant Lady, their image and methodology makes us uncomfortable, and IS unorthodox, but they’re filling a need in the Body of Christ- rescuing the weak and fragile Christians (unnoticed by busy and preoccupied Christian brothers and sisters) who will frankly “die on the vine” (see John 15) unless some unorthodox man or woman of God gets involved.

I took a lot of things for granted when I was pastoring and I took a lot of people for granted when I was pastoring. Sometimes, I was one of those busy and preoccupied Christians. Like many pastors, I shied away from certain unorthodox people and methods. If and when I ever pastor a church again, I hope to do so with the love of Christ and the leading of the Holy Spirit.

I don’t think I will ever forget The Parable of the Plant Lady!

[ IMPORTANT CLARIFICATION! : This post is in no way attempting to support, encourage, or justify false teachers or people with impure motives who “prey” on new believers and seek their spiritual destruction! Rather, it’s a defense of mature, Biblically sound, and sincere Born Again Believers whose methods and style may be strange or unorthodox, but who are genuinely used of the Lord to salvage and disciple weak Christians who are “falling through the cracks”. Any genuine Spirit-filled Pastor can discern the difference! :-) ]