About two months ago, as I drove home from church, I observed some tomatoes growing in a neighbor’s garden. I noticed how big and lush the plants seemed as the family picked, what I could only imagine, as juicy ripe tomatoes. I thought to myself, and even commented to my children, that I think next year we should plant our tomatoes in the ground, because the roots would have better opportunity to grow deep and produce more fruit. As it is, we have a container garden, and while my tomatoes look pretty good this year, they haven’t provided much fruit, because their roots could only grow as big as the container would allow.

The moment I said this my mind immediately went to the spiritual implications of this. You see, we’re just beginning a new series on the book of James and being rooted firmly in Christ, so these tomatoes were revealing to me an important aspect regarding our growth: Where we’re planted is incredibly important.

For example, no matter how much water and fertilizer I give our tomatoes, they’re not going to be able to grow any bigger than the pot will allow. And sometimes, we’re like these potted tomatoes; we seek the Lord, we study the Word and dive deep in prayer, but are left feeling “contained.” I’ve been feeling like this for some time. Like I take a step forward just to be put back in my place, stuck in my little pot, unable to grow as big, or as deep, or as wide as I would like, or as God would have me.

And it’s not always due to others; while sometimes, it’s the enemy that causes me to shrink back with his lies, even more often, it’s a fear of rocking the boat, or feeling like it’s not my place to speak out, that the timing is off, or just not knowing how to go about walking in my spiritual gifts. At first, I thought maybe this meant it was time for me to find a new church home. However, during a Wednesday night prayer service, I realized it could also mean that God’s calling us to burst out of these “containers.” Meaning, the confines of the Church, or those we’ve placed on ourselves, and sad to say, those we’ve tried to place on the Spirit.

God’s gifted us in so many ways through the power of the Holy Spirit (you may want to check out my last post for more on this) and while I think we can often feel like our gifting is only meant for those within the walls of our churches, I don’t believe that’s actually the case. We’ve been given spiritual gifts for the building up of the Church (1 Corinthians 12, 14:12), and I think this begs the question, what does it mean to “build the Church”?

As believers, we know that when we talk about the Church, we’re not talking about the physical church, but the spiritual. In John 18:36, Jesus Himself, said His kingdom is not of this world. Additionally, 1 Peter 2:4-5 (AMP) says…

Come to Him [then, to that] Living Stone which men tried and threw away, but which is chosen [and] precious in God’s sight. [Come] and, like living stones, be yourselves built [into] a spiritual house, for a holy (dedicated, consecrated) priesthood, to offer up [those] spiritual sacrifices [that are] acceptable and pleasing to God through Jesus Christ.

Peter calls us living stones, being built into a spiritual house. Yet, how is a stone house built if not stone by stone, believer by believer, soul by soul? While there are certain spiritual gifts meant for those who already believe (as found in 1 Corinthians 14:23), God has given us the Holy Spirit, not to keep Him to ourselves, but to share Him in every sphere of our lives; through our giftings and talents, in our workplaces, homes, neighborhoods, communities, and around the globe.

Yes, our physical churches are for worship and celebration in community; training disciples, in and through the Word; and building the Church; but they should not be places to contain the works of the Spirit or the message of the gospel. From here, He wants us to go and share it with the world!

The Lord will not be contained. If we don’t allow Him to move through and in us, He’ll work in other ways. Will we continue to attempt to contain this precious gift He’s given us in little pots, or will we root ourselves in the deep, rich soil, where we can grow as big as God will allow and sustain? This may mean doing things far outside our comfort zone, working with people we’ve never worked with before, or doing things that may not come naturally to us; and not just waiting for doors to open, but intentionally seeking the opportunities, which the Spirit emboldens, empowers, and equips us for.

Truth, love and grace to you all! ❤️