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Theme:
A Simple True
Story
God took a man and a woman who
were at the very bottom in the world's eyes (a black
sharecropper's son, unskilled, no experience, etc.) and
planted them in the poorest county of a poor state on an old
lover's lane which was a worn out pasture and there..... He
worked a miracle.
He gave the man a special
gift, filled him with passion and hope, and turned
him loose on three acres of land with plants the world
deemed hopeless pieces of junk worthy of the scrap pile.
What emerged over time was
an incredible work of art that gave new life to the
neighbors, transformed the town, impacted the state and
brought the world to Pearl Fryar's garden.
The Moral
of the Story
A man or woman in
union with God can do awesome things.1
Insights:
The
Garden
"Throughout the Bible, the
garden as a well watered space set apart for the intense
cultivation of plants, is an image of both nature and
sacred space".2
The garden is an image that frames the scriptures
beginning in
Genesis 2 with the Garden of God and ending in
Revelation 21 & 22 with the Celestial Paradise.
Consider the similarities
between Fryar's garden and the descriptions of Eden and
Paradise below:
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Reminiscent of Eden: |
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Secluded protection
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Beautiful |
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Lush with
vegetation |
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Place of human
labor and industry |
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Suffused with
tranquility |
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Ongoing human
upkeep |
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Not only a place,
but a way of life |
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Tree of life |
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Simplicity |
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Harmony |
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Well watered |
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Open Communion
with God |
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Abundant |
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Fountain in the
midst |
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The World
There is a contrast in the
documentary between the lush green vegetation of Fryar's
garden and the decaying brick and mortar of downtown
Bishopville. This contrast goes beyond the
physical garden and buildings into the spiritual realm
and is ultimately a contrast between the Kingdom of God
and the systems of the world.
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God's Kingdom |
World System |
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Every plant has unique
glory |
Throw away those unfit
for market |
Every person has a
unique glory -
(Pearl's "find your passion philosophy") |
City Nursery is in the
shadow of the SC State Prison |
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Time is an ally; it is
needed for growing |
Time is an enemy; no
time for anything |
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The slow, quiet pace
of the mower |
Constant noise of
traffic passing through |
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Integrated and
welcoming |
Segregated and
exclusive |
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Beautiful |
Ugly |
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Alive and growing |
Declining and decaying |
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Men use machines |
Machines replace men |
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Cooperation |
Competition4 |
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Innovation |
Tradition |
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Creativity |
Standardized Monotony |
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Spacious |
Congested |
The Church
One of the most fascinating
ways to view the documentary is to see the Gardner and
the garden as a metaphor for Christ and His Church.
Fryar
becomes a Christ figure who goes out looking for those
left in the scrap piles of the world. Taking them
to himself he plants them in the soil of his
unconditional love. Immersed in him, they are
provided for, trained and shaped into the unique
creations he visualized them to be long before they grew
to maturity (Ephesians
1:4). There is a beauty to each plant, but it
is in the corporate setting of the garden that they give
the most glory to the Gardner.
What about the literal
church in the film? Although there are wonderful
and touching scenes of Mr. Fryar's home church, there is
the sad commentary by his Reverend that the churches in
Bishopville for the most part tend to be traditionally
segregated much more like the world system than Mr.
Fryar's garden. In his garden Northern Fraser Fir can
grow easily along side the Southern Dogwood.
The
Gospel
Woven through the film in
picture, song, word and metaphor is God's glorious story
of redemption. From the singing of "Christ in the
Jubilee" to the pictures of the communion plate and the
cross to the words Love, Peace and Goodwill written in
the garden, the Gospel of Jesus Christ is the overriding
theme and message of this documentary.5
A Man Named Pearl is
a 78 minute Hallelujah song filled with grace, hope,
joy, heart, and the miraculous. For people not to
connect this with the One Who is behind every minute
would be a travesty.
As for Pearl Fryar ......
He has told you, O man, what is good.
And what does the Lord require of you?
But to do justice, to love kindness
And to walk humbly with your God.
Micah 6:8
Pearl Fryar is a living epistle, a love letter
written not by ink, but with the Spirit of the living
God, not on tablets of stone, but on the tablet of a
human heart. (2
Corinthians 3:3)
Notes:
1. For a great description of God's original
purpose for man, see
The Spirit of
the Disciplines by Dallas Willard
(especially Chapter 4).
2. The Dictionary of
Biblical Imagery, page 315.
3. Words italicized
stress the similarity to Fryar's garden. The lists
of Eden and Paradise are paraphrased from
the above dictionary.
4. Pearl helping neighbor's
garden vs. the Garden Club Yard of the Month.
5. For the best overall description of
Christianity and why it makes sense, see
Simply Christian
by N. T. Wright
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