WWJD?

Our city has a very nice community garden where we acquired a 10x10 plot, perfect for the family who has not grown a salad in a long time.  The kids have never had a chance to plant a seed and patiently watch for it to come up, water and weed, and finally eat the fruit of their hard labor.  We have a lovely row of lettuce, one of carrots, and one of beans.  There is a hill of bush cukes with empty space next to it for a tomato.  This won't produce enough to put up a harvest, but it will be fun to eat our own home-grown salads.  

Elisabeth is my would-be nature lover, and she REALLY wanted her own little plot. The community garden is filled up, so she went in search of a good piece of ground in the vicinity of our townhome. I was away one morning last week, and when I came home, voila! She had planted a little garden in the empty lot a block away!  She had a wonderful sense of accomplishment.  Her story is here.

Betz's garden is not visible from the road, but there is sort of a path that goes by it... and I was a little bit concerned that some vandals would find it and destroy it. They left it alone just until the baby cucumbers began to peek out of the soil, and then blam!  This evening we discovered teenage boy-size boots have clomped and kicked through the dirt, doing their best to destroy the well-beloved little garden.  :(  Don't you just wonder why some people get a kick out of destroying the nice things that other people do??  There was a bit of tearful mourning.  

Nothing like this has ever happened to my kids before, and this is a real-life test of our Christianity! The Millers or the Moodys would have made cookies for the naughty fellows and returned kindness for meanness, but we don't know who the culprits are.  What would Jesus do? And if he humanly couldn't do anything, how would he feel and react? Would he want to go knock those boys' blocks off, or would he just say, "Oh well"?  Would he plant the garden again or leave it a mess?  More important, what would be the condition of his heart?  Would this little episode serve to draw him closer to his Father? Would he be able to forgive the vandals and let this disappointment make him stronger?

It's easy to talk about turning the other cheek and all that good Beatitudes stuff, but living it is a different story.  That is a challenge for the new man.  :)

But I say unto you which hear,

Love your enemies, do good to them which hate you,

Bless them that curse you,

and pray for them which despitefully use you.

[...]

And as ye would that men should do to you,

do ye also to them likewise.

For if ye love them which love you, what thank have ye?

for sinners also love those that love them.

 And if ye do good to them which do good to you,

what thank have ye?

for sinners also do even the same.

And if ye lend to them of whom ye hope to receive,

what thank have ye?

for sinners also lend to sinners,

to receive as much again.

But love ye your enemies, and do good, and lend,

hoping for nothing again;

and your reward shall be great,

and ye shall be the children of the Highest:

for he is kind unto the unthankful and to the evil.

Luke 6:27-35