Weeds
I’ve just spent much of the day digging up weeds from the
garden. It’s been raining solidly for a few days, and today’s lull has enabled
me to do so more easily than usual. As I worked away, I contemplated how the
things in nature can often reflect or symbolise spiritual characteristics. Jesus
is very often in my thoughts, but never more so than when I’m in the garden,
enjoying God’s creation.
Weeds are like sin. They’re persistent. They are always
present. They spoil things, threaten the health of a plant and in the worst-case
scenario, they can kill it.
My mother taught me to weed when I was a little girl. You
have to be able to identify weeds from flower shoots or seedlings. You have to
firmly pull or dig out the whole weed, roots included. You have to shake off
the soil, the good stuff, from around the roots. Finally, you have to dispose
of the weed where it can’t shed any seeds or take root again.
So it is with sin. Weeds are usually the first thing to
appear on empty ground. Give space for sin in your life and the temptations
will come thick and fast, shedding their seeds of further temptation.
“Idle hands are the devil’s workshop; idle lips
are his mouthpiece.” (Proverbs 16:27). Empty spaces in our lives e.g. having
little to do, having lots of time, not connecting with others, can lead to
wrong ways of thinking and wrong actions.
If you just pull the foliage off a weed and leave the
roots, the area will look fine for a while, but it doesn’t take long for the
weeds to reappear. Pull a weed out with the roots and it will soon be dead.
Persistent sins need to be rooted out. Don’t just take a couple of corrective steps,
acknowledge your problem and seek deep cleansing and healing. This might
involve drastic changes. It might need you to seek someone to whom you can be
accountable. It may require therapy.
“…If your hand or your foot causes you to sin, cut
it off and throw it away. It is better for you to enter life crippled or lame
than to have two hands and two feet and be thrown into the eternal fire. 9And if your eye causes you to sin, gouge it out and throw it away. It is better for you to enter life with one eye than to have two eyes and be thrown into the fire of hell.” (Matthew 18:8,9)
Mulching is a good way to tackle weeds or prevent them. My
garden mulcher is one of my favourite tools. I mulch with shredded cardboard and shredded
clippings. I see the Bible as a ready source of spiritual mulch. That little,
sneaky tempting voice of Satan is no match for the mighty word of God. It can
be a great covering in times of temptation. As the psalmist says:
“I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin
against you. Praise be to you, LORD; teach me your decrees. With my lips I
recount all the laws that come from your mouth. I rejoice in following your
statutes as one rejoices in great riches. I meditate on your precepts and
consider your ways. I delight in your decrees; I will not neglect your word.”
(Psalm 119:11-16)
Another way of tackling weeds is to ensure that the
healthy plants that you want in your garden crowd them out. Ground covers and
lots of plantings are an excellent way of doing this. Satan is not so happy or
effective when a Christian’s life in the spirit is flourishing. “Whatever you do, work
at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters,” –
Paul writes to the believers in Colossae (Colossians 3:23). Let the focus of
your mind and deeds be on God: “Speak to one another with psalms,
hymns, and spiritual songs. Sing and make music in your hearts to the Lord, always giving thanks to God the Father for everything in the name
of our Lord Jesus Christ.” Prayer and Christian fellowship, as well as studying
God’s word will help our faith to grow.
We all sin and fall short. Sin and temptation are always with us. Praise God
that through Christ we have a Saviour who has set us free from the bondage of
sin and death and daily invites us to share a new life, the best life with Him.
