The first time my dear wife Chika and I visited our sister Inita at her home in 2024, my eyes caught
the grapevine in her small garden. This was something I had only seen on TV or the internet but here
we were, visiting someone who planted grapes. I was really fascinated by how the plant creeped
around the mesh and gave the place a classic visage.

So in summer of 2025, I decided to have grapes in our garden . I informed Inita and she gave me
some tips on the process. In concluding our conversation, I said “I plan to have the grapes by
August/September” (we were in end of June). She made a statement to me that triggered something
in my spirit: “You wouldn’t see the fruits till next year summer”.
This was a life lesson.

We have so many unrealistic expectations. God has introduced the principle of
seedtime and harvest; however, we want things to happen at our own time, we want to alter the
natural cycle of things due to our urgent circumstances. We are impatient and can’t wait for God’s
time.
Man has devised means to get earlier harvest through genetically modified species; little wonder he
experiences so many strange and incurable diseases.
Continue to nurture His word in you. Continue to cultivate your spirit with His word, prayer,
fellowship. Keep watering that plant. Persevere all through the required seasons. And you will see
your grapevine eventually – the fruit of patience.

2 Timothy 2:6
The hardworking farmer should be the first
to receive a share of the crops.

Genesis 8:22
As long as the earth endures,
seedtime and harvest,
cold and heat,
summer and winter,
day and night
will never cease.

Ecclesiastes 3:1-2
There is a time for everything,
and a season for every activity under the heavens:
a time to be born and a time to die,
a time to plant and a time to uproot,

I had never been one for gardening, but I was drawn into it after moving to the UK. It’s difficult not to be captivated by the vibrantly coloured ornamental plants that adorn many homes, not to mention the sheer charm that springtime blossoms bring.

Although I’d experimented with just two plants shortly before autumn in 2024—at that point, I hadn’t fully committed to gardening—the real journey began in spring 2025. Our dear sister Inita, out of the kindness of her heart, bought flower pots, gardening tools, and our first batch of plants. She travelled all the way from Kent to Essex with a mission to guide me through my first steps in this new pursuit. She is truly a blessed woman.

We began with a handful of ornamental plants, and she offered me valuable tips on how to care for them. Some were planted in the front garden, others in the back.
It’s now been three months since we began, and my wife and I have already learnt some profound spiritual lessons through gardening.

The Outcome: The Essence Lies in the Result

The purpose of planting is ultimately the result—whether fruit or flowers. It is the thought of the joy and beauty these plants will bring that motivates us to tend to them diligently. The soothing sight of blooming flowers and the promise of fruit make the labour worthwhile. And so it is with the things of the spirit.

Christ had the end result in mind—sons and daughters of God, conformed to His image. That’s why He came in the flesh and endured suffering and shame. His motivation was seeing us brought into His glory, becoming just like Him.

“In bringing many sons and daughters to glory, it was fitting that God, for whom and through whom everything exists, should make the pioneer of their salvation perfect through what he suffered. Both the one who makes people holy and those who are made holy are of the same family. So Jesus is not ashamed to call them brothers and sisters.”
— Hebrews 2:10–11 (NIV)

During His earthly ministry, Jesus chose twelve disciples who, by the religious standards of the time, would never have qualified to follow a great Rabbi—fishermen, tax collectors, zealots. Yet, He saw beyond their present circumstances. What He saw were future apostles of the greatest movement the world has ever known—one that would reach nations for thousands of years. It was this vision of their eventual transformation that motivated Him to nurture them patiently.

This same mindset is vital when we disciple others in the Lord. We yearn to see them rooted in faith and truth, growing to maturity in Christ. At times, the process can be daunting, fraught with challenges and setbacks. But keeping sight of the end result should fuel our perseverance.

Spiritual Cultivation

Many of us have a picture in our minds of the kind of Christians we aspire to be—mature, loving, faith-filled, powerful, conformed to the image of Christ. But to get there requires intentional cultivation—gardening, if you will, of the soul. The seed of God within us must be planted, nourished, monitored and tended to before we can see the fruits of spiritual growth.

There is a journey, a process. And it is the hope of the final outcome that encourages us to stay steadfast in prayer, in the Word, and in every spiritual discipline that fosters maturity.

Jesus said in John 14:28b … ‘I am going to the Father,’ for My Father is greater than I. This profound statement ushers us into a much wider discussion. This discussion is on having more awareness of The Father. 

There are several teachings on knowing Jesus and knowing the Holy Spirit personally; but I observed that there are few on the person of The Father. This is why it is pertinent that clarification is given as much as possible on this subject and we don’t fall short of its rich benefits.

Although it is impossible to delve into this subject without reference to the trinity, We must also note that this particular discussion isn’t about it.

Now, who is Jesus Christ? He is referred to as “The Word” in John 1:1-10. He is also “The Son” (only begotten) in several places like John 1:18, John 3:16. He also has always been the Son before He came to the earth (Proverbs 8:22-31, John 17:24). He is a “member” of the trinity 1 John 5:7 “For there are three that bear witness in heaven: the Father, THE WORD, and the Holy Spirit; and these three are one”.

A passage of scripture that expounds so much on Christ’s incarnation is Philippians 2:5-11. It says He was “obedient” to the point of death. Obedient to whom? It says “God” has highly exalted Him. Finally verse 11 makes it clear – and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, TO THE GLORY OF GOD THE FATHER. Christ coming, incarnation, glorification, the whole redemption plan is to the glory of God The Father!

Christ was sent by The Father. Though He was equally God, He decided to submit and obey.He recognized and submitted to the authority of The Father. That was why He said the Father is greater than He. This didn’t mean He was any less God than The Father, but it was said with reference to His authority. I have 4 children. If one of them should become the President of The United States tomorrow I still remain his/her father and nothing can change it; they came from me, I am their source. The Son comes from The Father Proverbs 8:24 says He was “brought forth” from The Father. This is what it means when Christ said The Father was greater than He.

The Bible message is said to be Christocentric. However, we must note that Christ didn’t come of His own, He was sent by the authority of the Godhead. What is Godhead? It is the word “theiotes” in the Greek New Testament (Acts 17:29, Rom 1:20, Col 2:9) which represents “Deity/Divinity” or the concept or “Office” of God e.g. “The Office of The President”. The equivalent of this in the Old Testament is “Elohim” being different in use from “Yahweh”. Elohim was the word used in Genesis 1:3 referring to deity or otherwise Godhead. The Bible message is about the Godhead and their relationship with man through Christ’s redemptive work. There could be no redemption without the Father giving His son.In fact, in most cases, when the Bible says “God” it is referring to The Father. John 3:16 – God so loved the world that HE gave His only begotten Son. The Father gave us The Son.

The Father also gives The Holy Spirit! Luke 11:13“…how much more shall your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to them that ask him?”. John 14:16 “And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever;”. The Father has sovereignty over all the members of the Godhead. He sends His Son, He gives His Holy Spirit.

The Father is the one that has adopted us as children – 1 John 3:1 “Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God:…”Galatians 4:6 “And because ye are sons, God hath sent forth the Spirit of his Son into your hearts, crying, Abba, Father.” Romans 8:15 “For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father.” To be born again is actually to be born of The Father (I know it is also to be born of The Spirit but technically, it is The Spirit that brings eternal life, the life of The Father, to us). 

The essence of our existence which is worship to God is primarily to The Father. Jesus made this clear on one of His most profound conversations in scripture. The Samaritan woman wanted to know how and where best to worship God. John 4:21 Jesus said to her, “Woman, believe me, the hour cometh, when ye shall neither in this mountain, nor yet at Jerusalem, worship the Father.” And again in verse 23 “But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship him.” The Father is the object of our worship and He sets the standard for it. Some may quote Christ’s saying in John 5:23 “That all men should honour the Son, even as they honour the Father. He that honoureth not the Son honoureth not the Father which hath sent him.” But here in context was referring to the Jews accepting Him as their Messiah King.They had rejected Him so He was informing them that rejection of The Son is rejection of The Father because The Father sent The Son. Therefore, worship is to The Father. All glory is unto Him.

The Father is also the one to whom we pray and He answers prayers. We see this in so many references – Matthew 6:6 “But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret; and thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly.” Verse 8-9 “Be not ye therefore like unto them: for your Father knoweth what things ye have need of, before ye ask him. After this manner therefore pray ye: Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name.” John 16:23 “And in that day ye shall ask me nothing. Verily, verily, I say unto you, Whatsoever ye shall ask the Father in my name, he will give it you.” Ephesians 3:14-16 “For this cause I bow my knees unto the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, Of whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named, That he would grant you, according to the riches of his glory, to be strengthened with might by his Spirit in the inner man;

The Father is the author of all things. He is the initiator of the plan for this present age. He determines the outcome of the creation and the universe. All world events are determined by Him and He has set the calendar for all things scripture prophesies about in motion.Everything happening is founded on His sovereign plan. Acts 1:7 “And he said unto them, It is not for you to know the times or the seasons, which the Father hath put in his own power.”Matthew 24:36 “But of that day and hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels of heaven, but my Father only.” The direction of the fulfilment of all things is to The Father. The eternal kingdom is one in which the Father rules. After Christ’s reign, He would hand over all dominion, rule and control to The Father 1 Corinthians 15:24 “Then cometh the end, when he shall have delivered up the kingdom to God, even the Father; when he shall have put down all rule and all authority and power.” Verse 28 “And when all things shall be subdued unto him, then shall the Son also himself be subject unto him that put all things under him, that God may be all in all.”

The Kingdom of God is one comprising of a family with The Father as the head and sovereign king, with children who are joint heirs with The Son. This kingdom would eventually culminate into a heavenly city which is perfect. Ephesians 3:14-15 “For this cause I bow my knees unto the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, Of whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named,” Hebrews 2:11 “For both he that sanctifieth and they who are sanctified are all of one: for which cause he is not ashamed to call them brethren,”.

I conclude by saying there is a need for us to be aware of the awesomeness of The Father that we may give Him His due honour and reverence; that we may worship Him and enjoy a relationship of true fatherhood. My recent discovery of this has brought another flavour and dimension to my walk with Him.